The Dragon Befriends the Tiger
by Carmen Veiga
Summary: Carmen is the new girl at Amestris High with a tortured past. Kurogane is the school hothead who is the last person she expects to become friends with. But, as their paths cross, they realize that even the worst of enemies can become the best of friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes-**Okay, I know that I should be working on Tsubasa Alchemist right now, but I couldn't help myself! I've read so many high school stories on fanfiction with so many of my favorite Animes, I had to write my own. But this time, I'm making my OC, Carmen Vega, the main character of this story. To learn more about her, check out my first fanfic: Tsubasa Alchemist._ This means that a dream sequence is happening.  
_

**~Chapter One~**

_The closet door creaked as I opened it slightly and peered out from our hiding place. My five year old sister, Sarah, clung to my side. I could feel her shaking in fear. My jade eyes focused on my father, his back positioned protectively in front of the door frame, gun in his hand. He had told us to hide only a few moments before. Something was coming, and it didn't look like it was going to be good._

_Sarah's grip on my shirt tightened suddenly. Tears started spilling out of her eyes as she whispered a sentence that almost made my heart stop. "Ca-chan, she's **coming!**"_

_At that moment, the front door to our house flew open and slammed against the wall with a **bang**! A figure stood in the doorway, ignoring the wind and pouring rain beating against her. Lighting lit up the sky and thunder roared, illuminating her face. My eyes grew wide in fear._

_"Hello, Raion." the women said, slowly stepping into the light. Locks of wavy, raven black hair adorned her head and fell past her shoulders. Dark red lips stood out against pale white skin. Dark violet eyes burned hatred as she stared at the man before her. She was wearing a black overcoat with black leather gloves covering her hands. Black tights covered her legs and black stilettos were worn on her feet._

_"Lust," my father answered, equal venom in his tone. He shifted so that he was in front of the door completely, blocking off my view of the scene. I backed away and wrapped my arms protectively around my sister. Even at eight years old I understood that we might not escape with our lives that night._

_"I'm terribly sorry about what four years ago happened to Daniella. A lovely wife she was. I also heard that she was a wonderful...**mother.**" the last word came out in a hiss. Sarah whimpered and buried her face into my chest. I held her closer. That's why Lust had come. She wanted to kill me and my sister._

_"I won't let you hurt them, Lust. I told you to stay away from my family a long time ago after I met Daniella. You're just going to have to face the fact that I divorced you and move on." my father continued._

_I heard the sound of heels clanking against the wooden floor as Lust stepped forward. I sensed Dad's hand tighten around the gun._

_"My sweet, sweet Raion. You see, that's not possible for me. I need you back. We were meant to be together, and you weren't meant to marry a woman like your late wife, or have kids like the ones who are hiding," at this moment I heard another sound. The sound of a knife being drawn._

_"What if I refuse?" my father then stepped away from the door way. I opened it slightly. Lust had taken a hunting knife out of her coat pocket._

_"Well then, I'm going to have to kill you, along with your little brats hiding in the closet!"_

_There was a bang as Dad shot a bullet at Lust. With cat-like reflexes, she dodged it and made a beeline for the closet door. Dad grabbed her by the arm and flung her into the china cabinet. Glass splintered everywhere. My father then rushed at Lust to wrestle the knife out of her hand._

_There was a flash of red, and a painful gasp from Dad._

_My eyes widened and I swallowed a scream as I watched the blade slice itself into my father's chest and right through his heart. Lust yanked the knife out; blood spurting out of the wound like a geyser. Dad fell backwards and landed on his back. Blood pooled out of his mouth and chest, staining the floor crimson._

_I slammed the door shut and grabbed my sister. I sat down on the floor and crushed her body against mine, pressing my forehead into her hair. Tears crashed down my cheeks as I heard Lust's footsteps coming closer to the door. A hand was on the knob and started to turn it._

_The sound of police siren's suddenly blazed through my ears. I sensed Lust freeze. Her retreating footsteps faded as she left the house through the back door._

_I threw open the closet door and ran out, screaming at Sarah to stay where she was. I knelt down next to my father's body. His eyes were closed and the blood had turned black._

_"DADDY! Wake up! Wake up Daddy, **please!**" I cried out. But he never did._

My eyes flew open and I bolted upright in bed, jarred awake by my alarm clock. I was breathing heavily and my heart was racing, slamming itself against my chest. Fresh tears were running down my face and onto my blankets. I wiped them away quickly, trying to control my breathing.

That night had happened only nine years ago, but it had haunted my dreams ever since. I was seventeen now, and was still haunted by the guilt of my father's murder. Surely I could of done something, but what? What could an eight year old do in that situation?

I turned off my alarm clock and slipped my legs over the side of the bed. I got up slowly and made my way to my bathroom. I undressed and turned on the shower, making sure it got to the right temperature. I stepped in and let the warm/scalding water cascade my body. I applied shampoo and conditioner to my thick, wavy brown hair, letting the water wash away my drowsiness and thoughts.

After my shower, I wrapped towels around myself and my hair. I went to the mirror and rubbed at the fog to clear it. Staring back at me was a girl with eyes that were an extremely dark shade of jade. Strands of her light brown hair stuck out of the bottom of the towel wrapped around her head. Her skin tone looked like she had a small tan. I sighed. Dad had looked the same way. Same eyes, same hair, same facial features. Being his spitting image only made me feel guiltier.

I dismissed my guilty thoughts. I wasn't going to get all depressed and start cutting myself over what had happened. I wasn't the type of person who gave up so easily.

I dried my hair and walked back to my room to get dressed. I put on a light blue tank top with a royal blue jacket over that. I slipped into blue skinny jeans and shoved my feet into my favorite pair of brown combat boots. I left my hair as its long, thick, wavy self falling halfway down my back.

I made my way down the hallway and into the kitchen of my empty apartment. Sarah had left for school with her carpool earlier. She and I were starting our first day of school today. Sarah was fourteen, so she would be starting 8th grade at Amestris Middle School. I on the other hand, would be starting my junior year at Amestris High. I just wish that we could of started at the beginning of the school year. Unfortunately we had registered late and were now starting in the middle of September. I was going to be the new kid again. Great, just what I needed.

My mother died when I was four from giving birth to Sarah. That had been my first death experience at the innocent age of four. It was painful at first to help take care of Sarah. My sister had inherited my mother's traits. Same long, blonde hair, heart shaped face, and same big brown eyes. Then, four years later, my father Raion Vega had been murdered by his ex-wife, Lust. The women had gone insane after my father had divorced her and wanted revenge. He had taken a knife to the chest to protect us. After that night, Sarah and I were sent to live with three childhood friends of mine: Winry Rockbell and the Elric brothers; Edward and Alphonse. The five of us were raised by Winry's grandmother; Aunt Pinako we called her. Winry's parents had been doctors like my dad was. They had gone to war as surgeons and had been killed on the battlefield. Ed and Al's father had walked out on them and their mother when the boys had been very young. Trisha had then died a few years later from a sickness that she had been battling with for a long time. We had all lived together until we were old enough to live on our own. Sarah and I had moved to an apartment building near the middle of town. Winry had stayed with Pinako. Ed and Al had moved to an apartment near us. We all kept in touch, so we found out that the four of us were all going to be in the same Junior class together in High school.

As I ate my breakfast, the light caught the shining metal of my right auto-mail hand. You see, two years ago, back when I was fifteen, I wanted to go after Lust and avenge my father's death. I was nearly killed by that mad woman. After the fight, I was injured pretty badly. The doctors at the hospital had then amputated my right hand, since the nerves in that hand had been cut off. Luckily, Winry, who was a very talented auto-mail mechanic, had made me a replacement hand. She had done the same for Ed. The brothers had been in a fatal car accident when Edward was eight and Alphonse was seven. Al was unharmed, but Ed had lost his right arm and his left leg. That had been soon fixed by Winry who had made him an auto-mail arm and leg.

I put my bowl in the sink and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I locked the apartment door and went out the the parking lot to my car. It was an old truck that was bright red and I liked it that way. I set my backpack down in the passenger's seat and sat myself down in the driver's seat. I stuck my key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

I took the long way to school, since I had some time to kill. I also wanted to familiarize myself with the streets and different buildings.

Finally, I drove into the parking lot of Amestris High. I parked my car and took my key out. I slung my backpack straps over my shoulders and started walking toward the school. Lots of kids were outside waiting to get in. Some looked like they were trying to finish up last minute homework. Others were just hanging around talking.

Winry had told me to look for her, Ed, and Al. She had said there were people who she wanted to introduce to me. So I let my gaze travel over the campus, looking for my friends.

I didn't even see her coming. Next thing I knew something slammed into my side, almost knocking me over. Two arms had then wrapped around my waist in a tight hug. I looked down to see a familiar blonde hanging onto me.

"Winry! I told you to stop glomping me unexpectedly or you might give me a heart attack one of these days!" I exclaimed playfully.

A wide smile spread over the blonde's face, "But it's so fun, Ca-chan!" she protested, using my childhood nickname.

She then detached herself from my waist and took me by the wrist. "Come on! I want you to meet the people who I told you about." and with that, she started dragging me toward a wall where some kids were.

"Hey, Vega! What's up?" Ed asked me playfully. He gave me a hug and fist bump. I hugged Al who was standing behind his brother. It was so good to see my friends again.

Winry then brought me over to some of the other kids who were hanging out by the wall. She gestured to a pretty girl with auburn hair and bright green eyes. "This is Sakura Kinomoto," she introduced. Sakura smiled at me as she stood up and shook my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Carmen." she said politely. She was wearing a white blouse and a pale pink skirt. A pattern of cherry blossoms were imprinted along the hem of the skirt. In her hand she held a peach pink spiral notebook. A picture of a white feather with a strange pink heart marking was on the front** (1)**.

"This is Tomoyo Daidoji," Winry continued. I shook hands with a pretty, short, raven haired girl. Her eyes were a light purple that seemed to sparkle as she looked at my outfit. "Oh my god! That outfit looks so cute on you!" she cooed, clasping her hands together. She was wearing a long sleeved periwinkle dress with white designer boots. I hair clip shaped like a pink wing held her hair back. I could tell that her family was probably very wealthy and she loved to design clothes.

Winry then pulled me over to three guys who were sitting on the curb. One of them was as skinny as a twig. His hair was blonde with long bangs that covered his cobalt eyes. He had pale skin and a bright smile. Winry introduced him as Fai D. Flowright.

"The short, raven haired kid spazzing out over there is Watanuki," she explained next. Like Fai, Watanuki's eyes were blue, but were a much darker shade. He wore glasses which were now sliding down his nose as he flailed his arms at a taller, raven haired guy with brown eyes and an emotionless face. "The stoic phantom next to him is Doumeki." Winry said ending the introductions.

I didn't hear her. My attention had then been directed to another group in the opposite direction of us. A pair, to be exact. The shortest was a kid with a head of brown hair, which resembled mine without the blonde highlights. His eyes were a dark brown and he was sitting on top of the wall. He wore a dark green shirt with a brown jacket over that. Jeans covered the kid's legs and gray sneakers were on his feet.

The other person of the group was leaning with his back against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. He had raven black hair that stuck up in a spiked fashion. Two little bangs on the left and right side of his forehead stuck out and went down just above his eyebrows. His skin tone was a perfect tan, though I doubted that he went to the beach much. He had a strong, burly structure that was made up of all muscle. He had on a black T-shirt that's sleeves only came halfway down his arms, making his muscular arms visible. Dark blue skinny jeans were worn on his legs and tan hiking boots were worn on his feet. He lifted his head suddenly and met my gaze with a hostile glare. His eyes were a dark crimson; the color of _blood_. I forced down the urge to throw up as the visions of my dream flashed in my mind.

I tore my gaze away from the pair and directed my attention back to my group. "Who are those guys over there?" I asked them, nodding in the opposite wall's direction.

Tomoyo was the first one to answer me. "The cute, brunette sitting on the wall is Syaoran Li! He and Sakura-chan have been best friends ever since they were little kids," I caught Sakura's cheeks blushing a bright pink. "And the taller, red eyed raven over there with him is Kurogane Suwa. He and I have been friends since he came to live with us a few years ago."

Sakura then motioned for me to come closer. She lowered her voice so that I was the only one who could hear her. "No offense to Tomoyo or anything, but I don't really approve of Syaoran hanging around with Kurogane. He's known around here for his explosive temper." she whispered in a warning tone. She shot a glare at the raven before continuing. "If I were you, I wouldn't bother with trying to become friends with him. Not many people have trusted him after what he did a year ago..." she trailed off as the school bell rang.

Winry grabbed me by the arm as our group was soon engulfed by the rest of the junior class in the crowded, narrow hallways. Luckily, I had been placed in Winry, Ed, and Al's homeroom. Winry left me in the doorway so she could go put her things away in her locker. I sighed. My first day of High school had officially begun.

* * *

**Post notes- (1) MEYKO! It's Sakura's feather lol!**

So how did you like the first chapter? To anybody who's wondering about the pairings that I'm going to do in this fanfic, here they are:

**EdxWinry**

**KuroxTomoyo (I would of had it be Kurofai, but I'm not good at writing those kinds of yaoi stories yet -_-;.)**

**FaixChi**

**SyaoranxSakura**

**AlphonsexOC (If you can guess who, you get a free cookie XD.)**

That's all the pairings I'm using. Review, and I'll see you in chapter two (that rhymes!)

**Your friend,**

Carmen Veiga.**  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes-**Hello! It's time for chapter two! Yay! In this chapter, Kurogane ends up in one of Carmen's classes. How do you think that will turn out? Lol._ This means thoughts.** This means that someone is speaking in Spanish.**_** This means someone is singing.** **88888** means scene changes. Enjoy!

**~Chapter Two~**

I had to admit, my first day wasn't as suckish as I thought it would be. Almost all of my friends were in my subjects. I was glad that Fai ended up being my partner in my culinary class. I've always liked to cook and the older blonde was there to give me a few pointers.

By the time eighth period rolled around, I was pretty used to my new learning environment. As I entered the Spanish room, I saw that it was set up as all my other classes were; long rows of desks, and bench-like seats, elevating themselves as they extended to the back of the room. I walked up the stairs and set my books down at a desk in the middle section. The teacher was late, so I took out my English notebook, opening up to a fresh page. I picked up my pencil and soon lost myself once again, writing a new song.

As long as I could remember, I've always loved to sing and write my own music. Mom taught me how to play guitar when I was three. I practiced hard every day to perfect the notes so that they would sound beautiful. My determination at that age always made Mom smile and laugh. I shook my head as I felt tears stinging my eyes. I wasn't going to cry. Not here, at least.

I finally gave up in the middle of the first verse when my hand cramped up from writing and my mind went into a writers block. I put away my notebook and propped my chin up with one of my hands, resting my elbow on the desk. I watched as more students filed into the classroom. I spotted a few people who I recognized from my other classes. Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye were among the clumps. Roy was the senior football jock who was adored by all of the girls, especially the cheerleaders. The only girl he couldn't put under his spell was Riza. She was a bad-ass blonde who didn't take orders from anyone and was the only person who could make Roy curl up in a fettle position in a corner. I chuckled at his feeble attempts to flirt with her.

I then saw Fuma and Kamui shuffle in at the back of the crowd. Fuma was the brother to Seishiro, who just happened to be in my math class. They were twins, but there were some traits that proved that they weren't identical. Seishiro had dark hair while Fuma's hair was light brown and spiky.

Kamui was a kid with a mess of black hair and deep blue eyes. Although he was pale and unbelievably skinny, he was athletically built. I was in his Phys Ed class. I've never seen anyone move that fast on the basketball court. He was awfully quiet, and he didn't talk much. But when he did, it would sometimes be to shoot a hostile retort at some dumbass who was pissing him off. Other then that, he was pretty level headed.

I lazily looked back to the doorway. I really didn't expect who to see next.

**88888**

"Damn that bitch Yuko!" the red-eyed raven hissed as he walked down the hallway. The stupid principal was the reason why he was late for the third time this week for class. She had called him into her office right after seventh period had ended.

_"I just wanted to let you know that I've switched your eighth period class from Math to Spanish, Mr. Suwa," the long-legged beauty of a principal had said to him. Her office was plastered with all kinds of nature things, including tens of butterflies, going along with the older woman's fetish for them. She wore a long skirted business suit that included a dark purple blouse, slightly unbuttoned, underneath the blazer. The front half of her long, unimaginably straight hair was pulled back into a bun held by yet another purple butterfly among the others. She had always tried to look more motherly prior to when she had took in that Watanuki kid after his parents had died. _

_"**WHAT!" **Why the hell did you do that!"_

_"I want you to make some new friends." She had given him a smile._

_"I have friends," he growled._

_"Maybe it's time to open up and make some new ones," she then became serious. "Why don't you try talking to the new girl, Carmen Vega?"_

_"Why? She had a whole flock of friends around her this morning."_

_"Yes that's true, but none of those friends are in her Spanish class and the poor girl hardly knows anybody else." Yuko explained._

_"Why would I care about that? She can survive one period without any of her little friends." he insisted. He really didn't want to waste his time with being a tour guide to the new kid; especially an airhead girl like her._

_"Why don't you just try talking to her? You can learn a lot from someone new, you know."_

He was now nearing the Spanish room, bracing himself for another lecture from the teacher about his attendance. He peered into the room and let out a silent sigh of relief. The teacher was late yet again. He walked into the room and let his gaze roam about the classroom. His red eyes finally rested on the person who he was assigned to "become best friends" with.

**88888888888**

_"Shit, what's he doing here!" _I thought as I saw Kurogane Suwa walk through the doorway. I quickly opened up a random textbook and pretended to be lost in the lesson written on the pages. Unfortunately, I could sense his gaze traveling around the room and finally coming to a rest on me. I stared blankly at the pages as I heard his footsteps echo as he made his way up the steps and towards my desk.

_"Sakura is going to be so pissed at me if she finds out that this happened!'' _my thoughts warned. A pile of books were set down next to mine.

"Oi."

I forced my eyes away from my text book and made them travel up until they met with the raven's hard, crimson scowl. I forced the bile down that had started to rise in my throat when my thoughts reminded me of another thing that was the color of dark red.

"Y-yes?" I asked, my voice stuttering slightly. I mentally kicked myself for showing a sign of fear and weakness.

"Hell if I know. Yuko just told me to talk to you," and with that, he slid into the seat next to me, staring straight ahead.

I held back a groan. _Wonderful._ The school principal just _had _to choose the most feared guy in the whole student body to be my guide. He didn't look like he was going to make an attempt to talk to me, and for once, I was glad.

The teacher then walked in and proceeded to take attendance. She then put us to work immediately. I was happy there was something to take my mind off of the grumbling giant sitting next to me. I was fluent in Spanish and also in Japanese. I wrote down the notes in my notebook that the teacher had begun writing down on the whiteboard-without the English translation. I could understand what the sentences said; what was the use of writing down the translation?

Two red eyes glanced at my paper. "_Why the hell isn't she writing down the translation?"_ was probably what he was thinking. I bet he couldn't understand any of the foreign crap the teacher was writing, no matter how many times he looked at it. This was just another class that he was flunking among many.

He let out a frustrated sigh.

My eyes darted over to the male as soon as I heard the verbal protest. His hands were balled into fists and he looked like he was ready to either rip his hair out, or kill the nearest thing he saw. I put down my pencil as soon as I was done copying down the notes. I turned my head to him and lowered my voice, "What's the matter? Do you not understand something?"

"Yeah, and its name is _Spanish._ I don't see how people can understand this crap!"

"If you hate it, why did you pick it?" I asked him curiously. It's not like Kurogane needed to take this class. It was an elective after all.

"None of your business, Vega!" he hissed back at me.

I resisted the urge to smack him. I couldn't stand it when people had the _gall _to snap at me when I was just asking a question.

Both of us jumped when the voice of our teacher shattered the silence of hard-working students, "Miss Vega. Mr. Suwa. Would you like to share your conversation with the rest of the class?"

"No, ma'am," I answered, feeling myself blush in embarrassment. My first day and I was already in trouble.

When she continued to glare at me, I sighed, **_"I'm sorry that I disrupted your class, ma'am. I promise it won't happen again."_**

The class went absolutely silent, and a bunch of eyes were watching me. My face went beet red. I wasn't used to being the center of attention.

**_"You're fluent in Spanish?"_** my teacher was shocked.

I nodded, _**"Yes ma'am. My parents taught me how to speak two languages when I was first learning how to talk. My mom taught me English and my dad taught me Spanish. I'm trilingual because I'm also fluent in Japanese. I'm also thinking about studying a fourth language."**_

_**"That's quite impressive, Miss Vega. Perhaps you can tutor the young man sitting next to you."**_

I looked at Kurogane out of the corner of my eye-who was right now looking at me in bewilderment with his jaw hanging open. I returned my attention to my teacher, **_"Maybe,"_**

As soon as the final bell rang, I rushed out of the room and down the hallway. I was relived to see Winry talking with Ed and Al over at their lockers. I gave Winry a hug in greeting and double-handedly fist bumped the Elric brothers.

"So, how was your first day Carmen?" Winry asked me as we walked out of the front doors and into the warm afternoon sunshine.

I shrugged. "It was okay, I guess. The classes weren't bad and the teachers weren't a bunch of assholes like they were at my old school."

"Glad to see you're fitting in." Ed complimented. I punched him in the arm playfully, causing his auto-mail to make a clanking sound.

"Ha! Didn't even feel it!" he cried out triumphantly. I then proceeded to chase him around the parking lot, trying to tackle him. When that didn't work, I gave up and headed to my car, waving to Winry and Al. Ed was still trying to protect his life, not knowing I had thrown in the towel on our little chase.

As soon as I was settled in my truck, I rolled down my windows and turned on my radio. I switched to my favorite station and started humming along with the song. I started pulling out of my space and drove down the parking lot. I opened my mouth and started belting out the chorus:

**"But, according to him,**

**I'm beautiful, **

**incredible, **

**He can't get me out of his head! **

**According to him,**

**I'm funny, **

**irresistible, **

**Everything he ever wanted!**

**Everything is opposite, **

**I don't feel like stopping it, **

**So baby tell me what I've got to lose.**

**He's into me for everything I'm not, **

**according to you."**

**88888**

He walked out the front doors and into the afternoon light. He didn't know what me and the teacher had been talking about at all, but he was most likely positive that he probably had something to do with it. I had looked at him out of the corner of my eye and had left class in a hurry when the bell rang after all- and that had probably confirmed his thoughts.

Now he was headed to his black Hummer SUV. He probably just wanted to go home and do nothing at all, including not doing his homework. Maybe he would call Syaoran later, or something like that.

He had just opened his car door and was about to settle in when he heard loud music blaring from a car nearby. He looked up to see an old, crimson truck coming down the parking lot, windows rolled down. The driver was, was a girl who looked suspiciously a lot like me, who was now busy singing along to the earblasting song:

**"Why can't you see me through his eyes?**

**It's to bad you're making me decide!"**

She then looked in his direction. Their eyes locked for one split second before the girl looked away and proceeded to sing the end of the song.

**"According to you,**

**I'm stupid, **

**I'm useless, **

**I can't do anything right."**

Of course, that dumb brunette in the car was me.

**88888**

I stepped out of my truck and locked it. I walked into the apartment lobby and took the elevator. I opened my apartment door and dropped my backpack while I removed my boots.

"Sarah? Are you home?" I called out.

"In here," a voice answered, echoing off the walls. I opened the door to the den and stuck my head in. My sister was sitting on a stool splattered with dried paint, and painting on another canvas. She wore an old pink T-shirt with blue jeans and pink and white sneakers. My sister was really into art, so she used the den in our apartment for her projects sometimes.

"Hey Carmen." she greeted me with one of her sweet smiles. She put down the brush she had been using and turned herself around in her seat so that she was facing me.

"Hey, kid. How was your first day?" I asked her. I flopped onto a red beanbag chair near the fireplace.

The blonde shrugged, "It was okay, I guess. Half of my teachers are complete bitches, but the rest are okay," she answered. "What about you?"

I rolled onto my stomach and propped my chin up with both of my hands before answering, "The high school isn't a hell hole as I thought it would be. It's not as bad as the last one I enrolled in."

"My thoughts exactly." my sister agreed, laughing a bit.

My eyes then traveled to her canvas. "So, what kind of masterpiece is the Great Sarah painting today?" I inquired curiously.

She turned back to her painting. "Don't know yet. It's a debate between Fall and Spring," she said, twirling a gold lock of hair around her finger. I swear to God that she looked exactly like my mother just then. Mom would do the exact same thing; twirl her hair when she was in deep thought. An accidental tear slid down my cheek. I brushed it away quickly before Sarah noticed.

"Have you finished your homework yet?" I asked her while a stood up from the beanbag chair. My back cracked as I stretched.

Sarah raised her eyebrow at me. "Ca-chan, you know very well that I _NEVER_ do my homework on Friday nights," her eyes then became curious. "Why? Was there something you wanted to do?"

I leaned against the wall. "Well, it's Friday night, and I'm too lazy to cook dinner. You want takeout or do you want to go out tonight?" I asked her.

Her eyes lit up. "TAKEOUT!" she cried out excitedly.

I laughed at her eagerness as I took my cell phone out of my pocket, dialing the nearest pizza place. Fifteen minutes later we were consuming a large cheese/pepperoni pizza between the two of us and gulping down two huge bottles of Pepsi. When all of the eating was done, we both crashed on the couch in the den. I seized the remote and turned on a random TV show while we waited for the thirty tons of crap we just ate to digest.

"Carmen, do you think you can play and sing one of your songs on Mom's guitar?" Sarah asked me.

My thoughts screamed at me to say ''No'', but I gave in just by looking at her innocent, pleading eyes. "Sure," I answered. I got up and went to my room. I knelt in front of the old chest in the corner of the room and opened it. There it was, my mom's old guitar. It was collecting dust since I hadn't used it for a few months, and the old, light blue ribbon tied around the guitar neck was frayed and fading.

You see, the day after my mom died, I had locked her guitar in this very chest, never wanting to see it, or play it again. I couldn't cope with the fact that she was gone at that young age. However, as I got older, I would take the beautiful instrument out and strum the strings once in a while. Sarah would beg me to play one of the songs I wrote. This was one of those times.

I lay the guitar on my bed and went to my desk. I flipped through my binder of the sheet music that held my songs. I finally found the one I was looking for and carried both items back to the den.

"Ooo, is this a new one?" Sarah questioned as I handed her the sheet music.

"Yeah. I started writing it today, but it's not done yet. That's all I have so far," I told her, slinging the guitar strap over my shoulder. I sat down on the couch and crossed my right leg over my left one, balancing the guitar on my thigh. I started strumming the intro. Beautiful sounds and music filled the small room. Closing my eyes, I opened my mouth and started singing:

**"You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors. **

**It's the morning of your very first day. **

**You say "Hi" to your friends you ain't seen in a while, **

**try and stay out of everybody's way.**

**It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here for the next four years in this town.**

**Hoping one of those senior boys**

**will wink at you and say **

**'You know I haven't seen you around, before.'**

**'Cause when you're fifteen **

**and somebody tells you they love you, **

**you're gonna believe them**

**and when you're fifteen **

**feeling like there's nothing to figure out.**

**Well count to ten, **

**take it in, **

**this is life before you know who you're gonna be...**

**fifteen."**

As I ended the last note, Sarah gave me a little round of applause. "That was great, Carmen!" she praised. She wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Thanks Sarah," I told her, returning her hug. A small smile crept over my face. Even though she wasn't here, I knew that Mom would be smiling one of her bright, proud smiles at me. The guitar was one of the last things that I had of my mother.

I slowly reached up and gripped the golden heart locket around my neck. The picture of my parents and I that was sealed inside flashed in my head. _"I miss you guys so much."_ I thought.

**Post notes-** Yay! Another chapter done! Now, moving on to a new order of business, I am officially changing the pairings for the story.

**SyaoSakura (Hell yeah!)**

**Instead of FaiChi, it's gonna be ChixHideki :D (Later, though, sowwy!)-That was KawaiiChibiHime33, my editor if you didn't already know her from my other series "Tsubasa Alchemist."**

**Instead of KuroTomoyo, it's gonna be TomoyoxEriol (Yes, I am putting him in there XD, even if he is from CardCaptor Sakura. Same with Hideki from Chobits.)**

**EdWinry (That stays the same)**

**AlphonsexCarmen (Yes, Al is going to be Carmen's love interest, deal with it lol.)**

**and finally... the pair you've all been waiting for. *drumroll***

**KUROFAI! *SQUEEEEEEALLLLLL!* (My editor for _Tsubasa Alchemist_, KawaiiChibiHime33 is going to be writing the Kurofainess, because I really suck at writing yaoi pairings right now lol.)**

**_Hey! It's not like I'm a yaoi fangirl or anything, but Kurofai is one hard pairing to ignore. It's so in your face! Once you know, you cannot let it go. But anyway, I've had my run-ins with yaoi(more than I ever deemed necessary), so I'll be helping Carmen out with that aspect of her story. NO LEMONS PEOPLE! *sick-minded little bastards out there...* JK! Just a few cute and fluffly yaoi moments here and there, so don't go all hormone-happy on us. WARNING: We will NOT live up to you expectations!(Okay, I'm done.)**

**KawaiiChibiHime33**

I hope you fangirls (and fanboys) are all happy! See you next chapter.

**Your friend,**

Carmen Veiga**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes-** Okay, a lot of you are going to hate me for what Kurogane says in this chapter to Carmen, but believe me: **WHAT HAPPENS IS THE BEGINNING OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP! ****This means someone is singing. _This means someone is talking in a text message. _  
**

**~Chapter Three~**

"Remind me again where you're taking me?" I asked Winry as we made our way down the school's hallway. It was Monday afternoon and Winry had come up to me in homeroom during Study Hall and told me she had signed me up for some new class. Of course, I was totally pissed off that she signed me up without asking me first, but my over-excited blonde friend had told me to bring my songs and she would explain it on the way.

My outfit today consisted of a red T-shirt with an open, green, hooded sweatshirt over that. Blue shorts were on my legs, and my boots were on my feet. I had put my hair in two thick french braids going down my back.

She sighed, "Jesus, Carmen. Have you been listening to me at all?" Winry asked me. She sported a nice white blouse with black skinny jeans that had a blue floral design wrapping itself around the shin. Blue sandals were on her feet. "Anyway, you probably already know what Chorus is, but it might be a little different from what you remember. We're there for two hours. The first hour we work on the songs that we're going to be singing for the concerts, and then the second hour we just hang out and do whatever we want. Sakura, Tomoyo, Watanuki, Fai, and I are all in it, and I thought that I would sign you up. Isn't that great?" she asked me.

Chorus did sound pretty interesting. It definitely seemed like the kind of class that I would enjoy.

We then came to a set of double doors, Winry pushed them open and went in, calling out for Sakura, Tomoyo, Watanuki, and Fai. I trailed in behind her, checking out my new surroundings. There were many separate rooms. Some were for singing, easily noticed with the strong, steady flow of harmonic notes making their way through the atmosphere to outsider's ears. Others were for playing instruments, being just as equally noticed. I exhaled happily. "I think I'm going to like it here."

I proceeded to walk into the nearest room I saw. Winry was chatting away with Sakura. Today, my auburn-haired friend was wearing a pale pink T-shirt and blue kakkies. A cherry blossom hair clip held her hair back. The emerald-eyed girl smiled when she saw me. "Carmen!" she exclaimed, coming over to hug me.

"Hey Saku-saku." I greeted her. She looked up and into my face with surprised eyes. "Where did you learn that nickname?" she asked me in a shocked tone. She was quite the innocent little thing getting all flustered and embarrassed over the pet name given to her by a certain someone.

I grinned mischievously, "Syao told me that he would sometimes call you that when you were kids," I told her, using her childhood friend's nickname.

She ducked her head in embarrassment, but I caught her face blushing a deep pink, "_Do we have a little romance going on in our little gang?"_ I thought to myself, chuckling at the shorter girl's nervousness.

It might have been a little cruel, but I decided to mess with her a bit more. "It seemed like he really liked the thought of having made that pet name up for you."

"WH-Wh-what?" she exclaimed. "Really? D-Do you really think so?"

_"She really can't suppress the happiness of it, can she?" _I laughed lightly at her antics.

"No! Well, I-I-I mean, it's from so long ago an-and I, just, um... yeah,..." her voice trailed off.

_"She might be oblivious now, but she'll realize that he likes her back." _

They both couldn't really hide it. Syaoran was happy about the nickname because he was the one to give it to her, and that gives him a sense of ownership and emotional bond with her. Sakura likes the fact that he gave her and likes the nickname because it makes her feel that he likes _her _with the nickname, and that he gave it to her because he wants to protect her. I was always pretty good with emotional psychology.

_"I'll leave it up to her to figure it out, for now. I'll give a few nudges here and there. I'm sure everyone else isn't exactly blind on the situation either. They'll help too."_

Even Winry couldn't suppress her "I'm-your-best-friend-and-I-know-you-have-a-thing-for-him-no-matter-how-much-you-deny-it" giggles from behind either.

_"Oh, don't you worry Winry. I'll get you and Ed someday too." _

That would have shut her up.

Sakura then detached herself and held out her arms. "Carmen Vega, welcome to Chorus!" she announced a bit too loudly. _"Probably trying to hide her embarrassment" _

I laughed and started to play along, "Thank you, Miss Kinomoto!' I said back.

"And tell **Syao-syao **I really love the fact he's telling everyone my childhood nickname." she snickered playfully.

I stared at her.

Then I burst out laughing.

_Syao-syao?_ That's priceless!

Suddenly, I sensed Winry walking up behind me. I turned around to smile, but it faltered slightly when I saw what she was carrying: a guitar.

"Carmen, would you mind singing us one of your songs that you wrote? You can play it on this. Just one, please?" she asked me sweetly.

_"Yeah, right! You were planning this from the get-go!"_ I gave her a look. She just smiled.

"I didn't know you could play guitar, Carmen-chan! That's amazing!" Sakura piped up from behind me.

Winry smiled even brighter, and this time with a hint of mischievousness. She knew she had got me. I couldn't deny Sakura. She was the type of nativity I couldn't say no to.

I heaved a sigh. "Okay. I can't fight the two of you at once." I then took the guitar from Winry, slinging the strap over my shoulder. I sat down in a chair while Winry and Sakura settled down on a bench nearby. Tomoyo, Watanuki, and Fai joined them a few moments later.

_"Don't even think for a second that I missed your little 'Mission Accomplished' signal to them!"_

I dismissed it for the moment, and began.

As I played the intro, I started humming to the melody. I then closed my eyes and started singing:

**"Na na, na na na na na.**

**I miss you,**

**miss you so bad.**

**I don't forget you.**

**Oh it's so sad.**

**I hope you can hear me,**

**I remember it clearly.**

**The day you slipped away**

**was the day, I found it won't be the same.**

**Oh...**

As the song continued, more and more kids started getting drawn in by the sad melody. They leaned against the wall in clumps, watching me play.

"Wow, she's really good." Sakura whispered in awe.

"Her mom taught her how to play guitar when she was three. Carmen was her first kid, so she wanted her to be as influenced to music as possible," Winry then stopped, her smile faltering, "But then, it all ended when she was four."

I heard all of their conversation, even though they thought I couldn't hear. It was all true, so I didn't have any problems with it really.

"What?" Sakura asked, confused.

The blonde hesitated, but then proceeded to tell Sakura the story. "Her mother passed away from giving birth to her little sister when Carmen was four. Then, when she was eight..." she paused again before continuing in a shaking voice, "her father was murdered by his ex-wife."

Sakura's eyes grew wide and she looked back at me. She now fully understood why I wrote this song.

**88888**

"God damn it! What is up with Yuko signing me up for these idiotic classes!" Kurogane growled, once again cursing the principal of the school for her seemingly evil unfairness and cruelty before shoving open the Chorus hallway door. The raven today was wearing a black leather jacket over a black T-shirt with white trim. Faded jeans covered his legs and black sneakers were on his feet. The principal had once again called him to her office, to which she had added two twin, plush, bunny-looking things, one black, one white, with red and blue gems on their foreheads, onto her desk, and changed one of his classes to Chorus. "Make some new friends" she had told him for the hundredth time. And for the hundredth time, he had told her that he already had friends. What did this woman want from him? He was perfectly content with the friends he had now. He didn't need anyone to change that.

His foul mood changed suddenly when he was greeted by sad, but captivating guitar playing. A girl's voice was heard singing along with the melody. His feet led him to the room closest to him. He stopped in the doorway and peered in.

It was me, sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, strumming the strings on a guitar with my eyes closed. A crowd of students were on the other side of the room, watching me play like they were in a trance. He saw Winry, Sakura, Tomoyo, Fai, and Watanuki among the small audience. I began to sing again and Kurogane's ears perked up. He was hearing me sing for the second time in his life. It was in a less embarrassing scenario this time though.

**"I didn't get around to kiss you**

**good-bye on the hand.**

**I wish that I could see you again.**

**I know that I can't.**

**Oooooh**

**I hope you can hear me,**

**'cause I remember it clearly.**

**The day you slipped away**

**was the day,**

**I found it won't be the same.**

**Oh...**

**I've had my wake up.**

**'Won't you wake up?'**

**I keep asking why.**

**And I can't take it**

**it wasn't fake it,**

**it happened, you passed by.**

**Now you're gone!**

**Now you're gone!**

**There you go!**

**There you go ****somewhere! **

**I can't bring you back.**

**Now you're gone!**

**Now you're gone!**

**There you go!**

**There you go s****omewhere!**

**You're not coming back.**

**The day you slipped away**

**was the day, ****I found it won't be the same.**

**Oh...**

**The day you slipped away**

**was the day, I found it won't be the same.**

**Oh...**

**Na na, na na na na na.**

**I miss you.**

**88888  
**

The last note was finally played. I opened my eyes and looked over at my audience. Silence filled the room for only a few seconds before it exploded into applause and cheers. I blushed a little. I then looked over at my friends. I was surprised to see Sakura and Wantanuki crying, but having big smiles on their faces. Winry, Tomoyo, and Fai were clapping with everyone else, cheering madly. I looked down at the guitar. That song was always a tear jerker. I had written it when Sarah and I first went to live with Aunt Pinako, Winry, Ed, and Al.

_"I wrote it because I would never able to be with my dad after that night."_

I looked back smiling at Sakura, but I quickly became confused_. _She was no longer crying and was glaring at something off to the left.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" I asked her, following her gaze.

Standing in the doorway of the room, was a familiar tall, crimson-eyed male. His scowl, which most of the time seemed almost permanent, had lightened slightly with surprise as he looked at me. Our eyes locked for a second before I turned away and started putting the guitar back in its case.

"Kurogane-sama!" Tomoyo cried out happily. She jumped up from the bench and ran over to her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Yuko," the raven mumbled like it was an obvious answer. When he saw that people were staring, he glared at them murderously. Everyone went back to playing instruments or leaving the room. Kurogane stalked away from everyone else and went to the far end of the room, sitting down in a sulking manner and pulled out his cell phone.

I had put the guitar back in the corner and was walking back to Winry and Sakura who were now sitting together in two of the chairs from the audience.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Sakura growled. Luckily, Tomoyo had left the room so she wasn't involved in our conversation.

"Yuko must have changed one of his classes or something," Winry replied.

"Well, I don't want him here! I told Syaoran not to become friends with a murderer, but he didn't listen to me!'' Sakura started ranting.

I stiffened. "Murderer? What do you mean murderer?" I asked. Unfortunately, Sakura was too busy ranting and raving to bother with answering the question.

I don't know what it was, but I was getting kind of sick and tired of Sakura saying that she didn't like Kurogane, or that Syaoran shouldn't hang out with him. Why did she have to constantly barge in and try to control what her friends did? Her mother hen behavior was starting to upset me.

My eyes went over to the raven, who was still still sitting against the wall, texting. Didn't he know that you weren't supposed to use your phone during school hours? On the other hand, there weren't any teachers supervising us, so I guess it didn't exactly matter.

_"Screw what Sakura says. I can go talk to him if I want. She's not my mom." _I thought.

I hesitated at first, but I worked up the courage to walk over to his sitting position.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked him.

"What does it look like, Vega? I'm texting." he grumbled.

"Did Yuko change your class over to this like in Spanish?" I asked him.

"Yep."

"Don't you want to try playing something?"

His scowl deepened and he finally looked up, locking his eyes with my green eyed gaze, "Why the hell are you over here talking to me? Yuko just wants me to make friends - which I have _**no intention**_ of doing, _**at all.**_ I'm already forced to have classes with your three stupid little blonde friends."

My hands had curled into fists at that point. Was this bastard ripping on my friends? I tried to keep my voice calm as I said, "What's wrong with Edward, Alphonse, and Winry?"

"Are you _really _asking that? Winry has an obsession with mechanical things, and won't shut up about it. Ed has a short, annoying temper and has to shoot his mouth off every class if someone calls him a shrimp. His brother is useless at everything, and probably won't be anything good when he graduates," His eyes hardened as the gaze bore into mine. "It's also really obvious that you have the hots for that bastard, you_** lustful** little bitch." _he then went back to texting.

**Something inside me snapped.** I had been curling my hands so hard into fists that my knuckles had turned white. My body had started shaking all over and rage took over me. I drew my right foot back slightly, then drove my shin right in between Kurogane's legs. _Hard__._

The phone fell out of the raven's hand and clattered to the floor. He let out a yell of excruciating pain, doubled over, and then flopped painfully down onto his side on the floor. _"What the hell!"_ he wheezed, looking up at me with a look of complete surprise and confusion.

_"You're a dumbass," _I growled, my furious gaze burning into Kurogane's red eyes, "How dare you tell me, _to my face,_ that_ my _friends are _worthless._ You don't know shit about what happened to me before I came here_. _So before you decide to insult my friends, _or _have the _gall _to call me _that name _again, maybe you should think first about what could happen to you!" I then turned on my heel and stormed off, heading for the door and slamming it so hard that the whole room vibrated.

I stalked out to the parking lot, throwing my backpack onto the floor of the driver's seat. I didn't give a shit if I got in trouble. _I could care less right now._ I slammed my door as soon as I was in the driver's seat and jammed my key into the ignition. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out to read the text from Winry.

_**"Are you okay? Do you want me, Ed, and Al to come with you?"**_

I sighed in frustration, quickly typing out the reply,

_**"No thanks. I might get in trouble for what I just did. I don't want to drag you guys down with me. I just want to be alone right now."**_

I pulled out of the parking lot and started driving down the street. I didn't know I was crying until I felt tears running down my cheeks. I pulled the car over to the curb and parked. I squeezed my eyes shut and slumped down in my seat. I started sniffling, but I didn't care. Nobody had ever called me that name. I didn't want to go back there.

**88888**

"Look what you did, you _bastard!"_ Winry screamed. She shoved her cell phone into her pocket and stormed over to the raven, who was sitting up, but still was in pain from the crotch abuse.

_"How dare_ you call my friend that _disgusting _name! She didn't deserve that at all!"

_"Winry..." _Ed warned her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sakura had texted the brothers to come to the Chorus room after Carmen had stormed out of the room.

Winry ripped her shoulder away from Ed. "Don't you 'Winry' me, _Edward!_ If you had been here you would have done the same thing to Suwa!" she then turned her cold glare on Kurogane. "I'm glad that she kicked you in the balls. _I hope it hurt!" _She had tears of hatred flooding out of her eyes.

It had hurt all right, and a lot more then he thought it would. I had put enough force into my kick to know it had. He had slowly gotten to his feet, with his legs slightly weakened and shaking from the pain. He shoved his phone back in his pocket, headed out of the room and out of Chorus. He limped down the empty hallway and opened the door to Yuko's office.

"Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Suwa?" the principal asked him, looking kind of surprised. She knew that she didn't call him down over the intercom.

"I want to go home," his crotch was killing him with the pain that he knew he deserved. The name that he had called Carmen kept echoing in his head, and it was enough to raise bile in his throat. He had used that revolting name, on someone who he barley even knew. Winry was right, she hadn't deserved that.

"For what reason?"

"I'm not feeling well. My stomach is killing me, and I feel like I'm going to puke." he wasn't lying about throwing up at all. The expression on his face seemed to convince Yuko.

"Very well. You're dismissed."

Kurogane gave her a small nod and trudged out to the parking lot.

**Post notes-** So yeah, please don't kill me. Credit goes to KawaiiChibiHime for making up the "lustful little bitch" nickname. Great, now Carmen is pissed at Kergs. What to do now? And yes, the song was "Slipped Away" by Avril Lavine. Read, review, and comment, and I'll see you in Chapter Four.

**Your friend,**

Carmen Veiga**  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's notes-** Hey peoples! Welcome to Chapter Four! I really hope you enjoy this one. In today's installment, Kuro-buro goes to Carmen's apartment to try to apologize for the "lustful little bitch" thing. Let me just say that it ain't gonna be pretty lol.

*Note from KCH33*- For any of you that think Kurogane and Carmen have a "thing" for each other, that's totally not the case. In this series, she views him as a big brother figure, and if any of you have read CV's other story, Tsubasa Alchemist(If you haven't, you should!), and thought the same thing, she views him as a father figure in that series. CV and I felt that it needed to be mentioned, and we are truly sorry if we ruined your fangirl dreams. Feel free to keep fantasizing like any fangirl does, but it's just not happening in this series. CV is the creator of these series, and she is a supporter of the Yaoi of Kurogane and Fai. (CV: HELLZ YEAH I AM! But I also like KuroTomoyo, so _PLEASE_ don't try to get me into you're little Yaoi fan clubs, Kay?) Again we apologize.

BTW! I, KawaiiChibiHime33, am in Morocco right now! I'm going to Spain tomorrow, but I'm still editing away for you guys! X-3 *'Kay, I'm done.*

WAAAAAH! I MISS HER! Anyway, February VK has past already. But it was fun, 'cause KCH33 (that's my nickname for KawaiiChibiHime33, if you didn't already know that) and I went skiing for four days! *Happy dance*. Now that my hyper moment is over, let us proceed with the chapter! **_This means that someone is talking on the phone._**

**~Chapter Four~**

I switched off the TV and curled up on the couch in the den, pulling the old Afghan blanket up to my chin. I picked up another remote and the fake fireplace roared to life, giving off some light to the dark room. My eyes looked at the bright screen of my cell phone as I checked the time. _1:15 _PM

I hadn't been going to school since what happened in chorus on Monday. I had no intention to go back either. Not when that thick-headed bastard was there. I still couldn't believe that he had said something like that to me. I was just asking him a simple _question_ for God's sake!

Sarah had questioned why I was home early when she had gotten home from school. I had lied and told her that we had an early release, and I had forgotten to tell her about it. I had then told her on Tuesday and Wednesday that I had taken a shortcut home from school. Fortunately, she had believed me. But, I knew that I couldn't keep the real reason from her forever.

I rolled off the couch and dragged myself into the kitchen. I picked up the home phone on the counter and dialed the school number. I waited for a few seconds as I listened to it ring.

**_"Amestris Middle School, how may I help you?"_**

"Hello. Um, I'm calling to dismiss my sister from school today."

**_"What's her name?"_**

"Sarah Vega. I'm her older sister, Carmen Vega."

**_"Wait one moment please."_**

When she confirmed that I could come pick her up, I thanked her and hung up the phone. I ran a brush through my hair to get the tangles out and put it up in a ponytail. I put on my jean jacket and grabbed my phone and car keys. I walked out to the parking lot, the warm afternoon breeze blowing around strands of my hair.

My sister was surprised to see me when she came down to the office with her things. She followed me to my truck, situating herself in the passenger's seat before closing the door and pulling on her seat belt.

"Are we going somewhere Carmen?" she asked me, looking up with those curious brown eyes.

"No. There's something that I need to talk to you about," I explained, keeping my eyes to the windshield as I pulled out of the school parking lot and headed down the street.

A look of confusion came over Sarah's face. "Couldn't this have waited until _after _I got out of school?" she asked. I sensed an edge of annoyance in her tone. Sarah is a straight A student, and she hates missing school unless she gets dismissed to go somewhere fun.

I heaved a sigh. "No, this couldn't wait till after school, Sarah."

**88888**

This was going to be so incredibly awkward for him. He was going to be surrounded by people, who right now absolutely hated his guts for what he had done to their friend.

_Halle-friggin'-lujah._

To his surprise, Tomoyo grabbed him by his wrist and dragged him into an empty room as soon as he came through the door. She let go of him and turned to look at her friend, her gentle, amethyst doe eyes now as black and cold as thunderclouds. "Kurogane...Youou...Suwa." she said slowly, her tone furious.

The raven flinched. He knew that when Tomoyo used his entire full name, she was _beyond_ pissed at him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! HOW COULD YOU USE THAT WORD AGAINST SOMEONE WHO YOU BARELY EVEN **_KNOW_**!" she shrieked, blasting his eardrums. For such a small girl, she sure had some lungs. It's always the small ones that fool you.

Kurogane held up his hands in surrender before his friend could get her hands on a trumpet and smack him over the head with it out of her anger. He slowly lowered them when the rage eased slightly from the raven haired girl's eyes.

"Look, I realized what I did was the wrong thing to do. I don't even know _why _I said it in the first place to tell you the truth," his crotch gave a sudden throb of pain as the memory of the brunette driving her foot into it came back to him. He then became serious. "Do you know where Carmen lives? I need to apologize to her."

Tomoyo was silent for a few moments. "I am planning to drive over to her house after school. She has tons of make-up work to do, and Winry doesn't want her falling behind. You can come with me then. But don't expect that she'll forgive you that easily."

**88888**

We stopped at a fast-food restaurant to split some fries because

**A.)** I had eaten lunch at 12:00 and I was starving.

and

**B.)** I was trying to take the slowest amount of time possible to get back to the apartment.

When we finally did arrive though, I knew I had to step up to the plate and tell Sarah what happened. The only thing I didn't expect when I got to the apartment door was seeing Tomoyo there.

With Kurogane.

My anger boiled again as I marched up to Tomoyo and right past her, not even looking at Kurogane, to unlock the door. Sarah approached the heavy-aired situation cautiously.

"Tomoyo! What a surprise! I would have given you a warm welcome if you didn't bring that mass of idiocy here with you." I sneered coldly as I wrestled with the lock of my door.

"Hey, now that's not fair," I heard the annoying voice of Kurogane say.

I managed to get the door unlocked as I swung it open with a bang that could have risen the dead from their slumber. I rocketed into the living room with Tomoyo and Kurogane in tow as I screamed "I'll tell you what's not fair! The fact that-"

"Carmen!" Tomoyo cut me off.

I stopped as she gestured with her head towards the front door. We all looked to see Sarah standing in the doorway with her backpack and jacket looking completely confused and awkward.

My anger melted slightly when I saw my sister's expression. I didn't blame her for being confused. If these two hadn't gotten here before us, I could of _at least_ explained to her what was going on. I looked away from the two expectant faces looking to me to do something.

"Tomoyo," I whispered dryly to her, "take Sarah down to the den. Make sure she does her homework."

"But, Carmen I - !" she began to protest.

"Now," I said harshly, "please."

She nodded in understanding. "Come on, Sarah," she said kindly, opening her arms towards Sarah like an adult trying to get a shy child in a kindergarden class to join the group in an activity. Sarah openly went towards Tomoyo's outstretched arms, and Tomoyo guided her down the hall, leaving Kurogane and I in an awkward, and incredibly tense silence.

I waited until Tomoyo and Sarah shut the door to the den before I turned back to the raven. "What the hell do you want? You have some nerve coming here and expecting me to talk to you." I hissed venomously at him.

Kurogane, who seemed too stupid to even feel threatened by my furious tone, said "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry that I called you...well, you know. And I know that you're not going to forgive me right now-''

"Damn straight I'm not going to forgive you!" I growled cutting him off. "You think that by just saying 'I'm sorry' it's going to make it all right again? Well it's not. You called me that name, and there is _nothing_ you can ever do to take it back. I didn't know that you wanted to be alone, okay? I just wanted to be a nice person and try to talk to you, but you had to shoot your mouth off. Now if you would be so kind and get your ass out of my house, I _promise _that you won't end up on the floor again like last time." I then turned on my heel and stalked toward the kitchen, expecting him to leave. To my irritation, he followed me.

"I thought I just told you to _get the hell out of my house!"_ I hissed without turning my head. I seriously felt like I was a mother talking to a disobedient five-year-old. I slammed the kitchen door in his face in an attempt to make him leave, but he just came right in.

"I'm not leaving." he said finally stopping in the doorway. I turned my back on him. Why couldn't he just see that I didn't want to talk to him? Couldn't he tell that I was still angry about what he did?

"I don't give a shit. I told you to get out. Thanks for acting like you care and coming here with Tomoyo for your protection, but I'm not changing my mind. I _despise _people like you. You're nothing but a thick-headed asshole who will grow old and die without anyone but your one friend to morn your passing." I snapped.

"That's why I'm here to apologies!'' the raven growled, growing more frustrated by the minute. "You can hate me if you want, and I don't blame you. But why can't you just accept my apology and realize that I didn't-" he stopped in mid-sentence.

My whole body was shaking. Tears were welling up in my eyes and running in hot trails down my face. I was glad that my back was toward him so that he couldn't see me cry.

"Carmen?" I heard his footsteps as he started coming into the kitchen.

"Just go," I hissed, trying to keep my voice from cracking. "Go get Tomoyo and get the hell out of my house. I don't anything to do with you."

"Carmen, I just-"

"I said go!" and then in a smaller voice, "Please."

It seemed like forever until I heard him leave the kitchen. I stood there as I listened to him open the door to the den and tell Tomoyo that they were leaving. When the front door finally clicked shut, I slowly sunk to the floor. A limp hand covered my eyes as I let the tears come forth, each one splashing onto the wooden floor.

I then felt a small hand on my shoulder. I looked up to lock my eyes with Sarah's concerned gaze.

"Carmen, what happened? Did he hurt you?" she asked in a scared voice.

I wanted to answer, but the lump that had formed in my throat refused to let me get the words out. More tears ran down my cheeks.

Sarah got down on her knees and cradled my head against her chest. The same thing I did for her when she was little, crying out for our parents. I cried and cried, just letting her hold me.

"He didn't hurt me," I managed to choke out, "but, I _never _want to see that bastard again!"

**Post notes-** Poor Carmen-chan. So, what now? She completely hates Kurogane now, so where's this story line going to go? You'll have to find out in chapter Five! Byyyyeee!

**Your friend,**

**Carmen Veiga.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author notes- ARGH! **I am so PISSED off at Fanfiction right now for not letting me upload my chapters for a WEEK! I'm terribly sorry that it took me so long to upload because I had the chapters all written up, but Fanfiction decided to be an ass! Okay, rant over.

In today's installment, Carmen is going back to school (Yay!) but she's still not ready to forgive Kuro-puppy. I've been really excited about writing this chapter, because there's going to be some more singing (to a song that we are all _**very**_ familiar with), and, that's right fangirls and fanboys, Kuro-chu is going to sing! *squeal!*

**~Chapter Five~**

"Carmen, get up!" Sarah's irritated tone commanded. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head. "Don't bother me, I'm sleeping." My eyebrow twitched as my sister opened my shades and ripped the covers off my body. I threw my hand over my eyes to block out the intense glare coming from outside.

"Get your lazy ass up! I'm not letting you skip the last day of the week when you've already missed three days!" the blonde exclaimed.

I groaned again, but I sat up anyway running my hands through my hair and rubbing my eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" I asked her in a groggy voice.

"We got the day off because the teachers are having a meeting, but the High school has school today. If you skip anymore days, you're going to have a ton of make-up work. Do you want to ruin your good grades?" she asked me.

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed, making my sister leave. I dressed in jean khakkies, a blue T-shirt, and my zip-up scarlet _Amestris High_ hooded sweatshirt, which had been a gift from Winry on my first day. I walked into my bathroom to wash up. I put my hair in a single french braid before walking out to the kitchen.

Sarah was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. She watched as I went to the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke. I sat down next to her and started to irritably chew the top off of a muffin.

"What?" I asked when I sensed her staring at me.

"Nothing. It's just...what are you going to do when you go to Spanish today?"

Her question made me stop for a few moments. I shrugged.

"And Carmen."

"Yeah?"

"That better not be your "breakfast.'"

**88888**

My stomach was tied in a huge not by the time I drove into the High school parking lot. I got out, locked my truck, and started walking toward the school, my eyes scanning the campus looking for my friends. When I saw that they weren't there, I sat down on the curb in our usual meeting place. I started tracing swirls into the cement with a random stick I found when I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up to see Alphonse walking toward me.

"Hey Al," I said standing up. He and I fist-bumped before he sat down on the curb with me.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, concern in his brown eyes. "I thought that you weren't going to come today, since what happened in Chorus pissed you off so much."

The familiar spark of anger was fueled once again. I clenched my fists and bit my tongue. I didn't want to take my anger out on Al. He was just concerned about me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

As the school day progressed, I was trying hard to concentrate on what I had missed, but another part of my brain was thinking of a way to get out of eighth period Spanish. I didn't want to ditch class. Maybe I could ask the teacher if I could go to the nurse a few minutes into the class and then hide out in the girls' bathroom until class was over.

I was still thinking of my escape route as I neared the Spanish room. I stopped outside the doorway and looked in, heaving a sigh of relief. Kurogane wasn't there yet. And I luckily saw an empty seat next to Riza at her desk.

I shuffled in and up the the desk. "Um, Hi Riza. Is this seat taken?" I asked her apprehensively. I had never really talked to the blonde before, so I didn't know what she was going to be like.

Riza gave me a small smile. "No, you can take it," she said. I thanked her and slid into the seat. No sooner had I done that I saw Kurogane enter the classroom out of the corner of my eye. I forced myself to stay seated as I sensed his gaze rest on me. No doubt he was surprised to see me back in school. I let my guard down slightly as he looked away and headed up the stairs.

As the final bell rang at the end of the period, I hid among the huge sea of students coming out of the classroom. Al was waiting for me at my locker like always. We started walking down the hallway when a thought came to me.

"Al." I said as we emerged from the double doors.

"Yeah?"

"You go on ahead with Ed and Winry. I'll catch up with you guys later."

He looked a little reluctant about leaving me there. "You sure?"

I nodded. "I just need to go do something. I'll come over to your place tonight." Ed, Winry, Al, Sarah, and I had planned to hang out at the brothers' apartment that evening to do homework.

"Okay," he finally agreed. He turned and started heading towards his car.

I turned on my heel and headed back into the school. The hallways were all empty as I walked down them. I knew that the school closed at four, so I had time until then.

I finally came to the Music room. I turned the doorknob and slowly stepped inside the empty classroom. I let my gaze travel around until it rested on the thing I was looking for; the guitar.

I took a chair and pulled it over to the instrument. I sat down and carefully took the instrument off of it's stand. Playing the guitar always helped sometimes to calm me down if I was under a lot of stress, or if I was just mad as hell.

I started to strum out the intro, closing my eyes and losing myself in the beautiful melody. It was a song that everyone was familiar with, so I had memorized it so I could play it. I sat alone in the empty classroom, playing my heart out. The happiest I had ever been in a long time.

**88888**

He trudged out of the Spanish room and into the sea of students, feeling like someone had just hit him in the gut with a sack of bricks. Carmen had come back to school, but she had completely ignored him when he had walked in to Spanish. To make matters worse, she had been sitting with Riza. He wanted to apologize again, and say that he was sorry for making her cry yesterday; though he wasn't exactly sure what he had done to upset her like that.

His thoughts were then interrupted when he heard the sound of a guitar playing. He let his feet lead him down the empty hallway and to the music room. The door was open, so he stood against the doorway and out of sight. He had a good idea of who was playing the guitar even before he looked in the doorway.

**88888**

I was sitting to the far right of the doorway, playing the guitar with my eyes closed as always. The only difference from all the times I had played this before was that I wasn't singing this time.

**Hate~enki yu~me~e motomeru ~ shirube naki sekai~ de. ~~**

**Kasanaru omoi ~ kokoro tsukisasu ~ kodou,**

**shizuka ni tsuzuku ~ tamerai mo nai ~ uta.**

**Tooku ~ sora, no ~ kanata~ kara ~ mazaria~atta ~ bokura no kage.**

**Hitsuzen~n to ki~magure~ no naka ~ shiru~sareta ki~oku.**

**Surechigatta ~ toki no uzu**

**Kuchi~hatetemo ki~mi no ~koe o~ shinjite. ~~**

I knew full well by now that he was there and singing, but I just kept playing as he sang the next verse.

**Hate~naki~yume~e motomeru ~ shiru~ube na~aki mirai~ de.~~**

**Boku ga~ hikari ~ na~kushitemo ~ isuka.**

**Kimi ga~ tomo~shi~itekureta~a ~ kirameku mu~une no honoo**

**Tsuba~sa-ni~ kawaru ~ kibou~ nokakera.~~**

**88888**

My fingers slowly came to a stop as I strummed the last note. There was a brief silence before I lifted my head and met his eyes with my cold glare. "What do you want? I thought that I made it clear yesterday that I didn't want anything to do with you."

The raven heaved a sigh, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I did to you in chorus."

My anger started boiling all over again. I was getting so sick and tired of him trying to act like he _actually_ felt terrible about what he had done. It would be better for the both of us if we acted like it had never happened and just move on with their lives.

"When are you going to get it through your _thick,_ _Neanderthal_ brain that I won't forgive you? It's my option to forgive you, but I won't. It was your option not to call me that word, but you decided to be a douche and do it anyway." As I was talking, I carefully placed the guitar back on the stand, surprising myself that I was able to keep my hands so steady when my body was starting to tremble with familiar rage. I stood up and stalked past him and started to make my way down the hallway, when he grabbed my arm.

Like a reflex, I tried to rip my arm out of his grasp, but he held on. I tried again, but he kept a firm hold on me.

"Look, _I'm sorry,_ okay!" the sudden sincerer tone surprised me. I stopped trying to get away and stood still. I still had my back to him, but I just listened. "I didn't know what I was thinking when I called you that, and I _know _that I shouldn't of called you it. Even if you were one of my friends, I still shouldn't of said it to you."

"..."

"If you want to hate me, I don't blame you. But I want you to know that I feel like an asshole about hurting you."

I finally forced myself to turn my head back and look at him. I was surprised when I saw his expression. Though his signature scowl was still there, he had risked letting it up a little. Kurogane _did_ look sorry. Well, to me he looked more like an animal that had gotten run over, but that wasn't the point.

I felt his grip on my arm loosen, allowing me to pull it back to my side. I heaved an exasperated sigh. "If you're going to be like that every time you apologize, I guess I'll have to forgive you." I said.

After standing there for a few seconds, I turned around, stuffed my hands in my sweatshirt, and slowly started walking down the hall. But before I had gone a few feet, I turned around again.

"And just to make it clear, Alphonse is a good friend of mine. He, Ed, and Winry helped me get through a tough time when I was younger. Believe me, I _don't _have a crush on him." I then continued walking down the hall and out to the parking lot.

However, the mention of Al and I as an item did get me thinking...

**Post notes- **Whew! Let me just say that I had a writers block about Kuro-wan and Carmen's conversation awhile back. Believe me, it was torture! Sorry if the ending was a little crappy, but I was running out of ideas on how the chapter was going to end. GAAAHHHH! *head/desk*

~I (KCH33) helped! That last little line was mine!~ X-D

Please don't hurt me lol. And yes, the song that Carmen was playing was _**Blaze**_, and it is the theme song to season one of Tsubasa. Read, Review, and Comment, and I'll see you in Chapter Six.

**Your friend,**

**Carmen Veiga  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's notes-** Hey people! I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out. I was uh, kind of in a writers block for what to do for this chapter.

**Carmen:...**

**Me: "What?"**

**Carmen: "What the hell took you so long to write this chapter!"**

**Me: "Hello~, writer's block!"**

**Carmen: "That's no excuse! If you had writer's block for so long, why didn't you friggen' ask KCH if she had any ideas?"**

**Me: *sweatdrop* "Um, because I was thinking of ways to torture Kurger-burger in this story?"**

**Kurogane: "HEY!"**

**KCH33: "I could have come up with stuff for that!"**

**Me: "And that is why you are my faithful editor :D".  
**

**Me: "I do not own Tsubasa or FMA. If I owned Tsubasa, I would make SO many more KuroFai/SyaoSaku moments in the series, AND the manga."  
**

**Kurogane: "Wait, what?"**

**Me: "Nothing, Kuro-puppy!"**

**Kurogane: *eyebrowtwitch***

**Fai: *blushes cutely***

**Me: "If I owned FMA, I would have put Carmen into the series and manga."**

**Carmen: "I'm still mad at you."  
**

**KCH33 is responsible for editing these chapters for your enjoyment YAY!  
**

* * *

**~Chapter Six~**

It was only a week later when Winry confronted me at my locker. I was busy trying to free my binder from the cramped, tiny space when I heard her walk over. I looked up into her eyes, which were now burning like blue fire in anger.

"Um, Hi Winry." I said reluctantly.

"Why the _hell _were you talking to Suwa last Friday!" she demanded.

_"Oh shit," _I thought.

"Don't try to deny that you were, because I saw you," she continued when I opened my mouth to protest. "Al told me that you weren't coming, so I decided to go back and look for you. And then I saw you talking to that thick-headed bastard outside the music room."

"He's not thick headed, and he's not a bastard either!" I snapped, jumping a little too quickly to defend the raven.

Winry's eyes narrowed, "_What?"_ she asked, her voice dangerous.

I shut my mouth quickly, realizing what I had just done. "N-nothing." I stammered turning back to my locker. I grabbed my books and headed swiftly down the hallway, noting that Winry was easily keeping up with my fast pace.

"Why are you _defending _him?" the blonde asked me. Her furious gaze was growing angrier by the minute.

"It's none of your business," I mumbled not making eye contact.

She stopped me right there. I tried not to flinch as I was forced to look at her.

"_It is my God damn business!_" she hissed. "Some jackass calls you a... a you-know-what, and you kick him in the crotch for it! Few days later, you're both alone in the school and talking to each other! If your mom was still alive, don't you think that she would want to know what was up too?"

Silence.

I glared into those blue irises, the anger slowly disappearing to be replaced by guilt and shock.

"Carmen. I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Just because my mother isn't here," I snarled in rage, "doesn't mean that you have permission to take her place and worry over me, **or** throw the memory of her death in my face like it's something that I can just move on from!'' With that, I shoved past Winry and stalked down the hallway, heading for first period, leaving her to stand there in the sea of students, a look of pure guilt on her face.

**88888**

I was still pissed off at Winry by the time last period came. I stalked into the room and took my usual seat, slamming my books onto my desk and sitting down.

She had no right to bring my mom up. I never brought up her parents because I knew she would have started crying since their death had hit her hard. Didn't she even _realize _how much pain the death of my parents had caused me? Sure, I didn't show sadness most of the time since I didn't want people to trouble themselves worrying about me, but that didn't mean that I wasn't still crying on the inside.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear footsteps coming up the stairs, nor did hear books being put next to mine.

"Oi."

I gave a small nod, letting him know that I had heard the familiar greeting, as I continued to glare daggers at the wall.

"Something wrong?" Kurogane asked.

I shook my head, still not speaking.

"Liar."

I whipped my head around toward him, my glare meeting his scowl.

"It's nothing. And it's really none of your business either." I retorted through clenched teeth.

"Miss Vega!" I heard the teacher snap, "Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

"No, ma'am." I answered, forcing all the politeness I could muster into my tone.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I am going to assign a project to this class that is worth fifty percent of your grade,"

Groans filled the classroom as she finished her sentence.

"I have paired each of you up with a partner. When I call your names, please come up here so you can receive the topic picked by me for your project." She then looked to a list that she held in her hand.

As she started going down the list, I was hoping that I would get paired up with Riza. She wasn't a slacker, so we would probably get the project done early.

"Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang."

Riza groaned while Roy's face showed a look of complete glee.

My mood grew darker as the teacher started to get to the bottom of the list, still not calling out my name. I just hoped that she didn't pair me up with-

"Carmen Vega and Kurogane Suwa."

-That bitch!

When the bell finally rung, I turned to the raven as I rose from the desk with my books.

"Just to make this clear Suwa, I am not, and I repeat _NOT_, going to do this whole project by myself. Besides, it will do you some good to improve your grade since your horribly failing right now." I informed him.

He answered with the same scowl as before. Rolling my eyes, I turned on my heel and headed out of the room. I was in a wrestling match with my damn padlock on my locker since it wouldn't open for the umpteenth time when Winry walked past me. I pretended not to see her, but I knew that she had stopped and was considering on trying to talk to me. Finally, she sighed and continued walking down the hallway.

I sat down in my car and stuck my key in the ignition. It didn't turn on. I tried again. Nothing.

"The hell?" I asked. I tried for the third time to try to turn it on and once again not making any progress.

I got out and started cursing under my breath, kicking the front wheel out of aggravation, which only resulted in making my foot throb in pain. I had no way of getting home because all of my friends had left already, and I didn't know anybody else well enough here to ask for a ride.

"Something wrong with your car?"

I jumped and turned to see Kurogane standing behind me. Jesus Christ, why did he always have to sneak up on me like that!

"Asshole, don't scare me like that!" I snapped irritably.

"What's got you in such a rotten mood today?" the raven asked. "Do you need a ride or not?"

I hesitated slightly. If anybody found out about this, Winry would probably kill me. Well, I was still pissed off at her, so I didn't exactly care what she thought at the moment. On the other hand if Sakura found out, my head would probably be rotting on a spike by the end of the week.

"Yeah, my car is dead so I have no way of getting home." I finally answered.

Kurogane turned and started walking away. He had only gone a few steps when he turned back to see that I was still standing where I was in a cloud of confusion.

"Well, are you coming?"

"What? Uh, yeah."

I followed him over to his car, which ironically was a Black Hummer SUV. I opened the passenger door and sat down. "Risembool Avenue," I said before he could ask me what street.

The ride home was extremely awkward. We sat there in complete silence; me looking out the window while he watched the road. A heavy downpour started as he pulled up in front of my building. I said a quick thank you before shutting the door and scrambling into the lobby to take refuge from the rain.

**88888**

"So let me get this straight." Sarah said from her place at the coffee table in the living room. It was later that night and Sarah was working on homework while I was curled up on the living room's window seat with a good book. "You got paired up with Suwa to do a project."

"Yup." I answered without looking up from the book.

"Then your truck wouldn't start after you got out of school so he gave you a ride home."

"Uh-huh."

"So now he's going to drive you to and from school everyday until your truck gets fixed, _and_ your going to do the project over here and his house?"

"Affirmative."

"So... when did you agree to all of this?"

I sighed before directing my attention to my sister, "Look, it's not like I'm happy about this. I'm probably going to have to do all the work on the project since Kurogane doesn't know how to speak a word of Spanish and completely sucks at the subject. Second, he's only giving me rides until my truck gets fixed, so I'm not exactly thrilled about that either." I explained.

"Yeah, I know," the blonde said, "but I just don't want him to insult you like he did last week you know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please Sarah, it's my job to be worrying about you like a mother hen, not the other way around."

"Hey! I just don't want you to kick another guy in the crotch, that's all!"

"Like the time when you kicked that kid in the balls who wouldn't stop hitting on you?"

I easily dodged the couch pillow thrown at my head and got back to my book.

**88888**

As the final bell rang, I headed down the crowded hallway to get out to the parking lot. I called out to Watanuki who was trying to get something off the top shelf of his locker.

"Watanuki-kun!''

"Oh, Hi Carmen," he called back as I came over. "Damn these lockers! Why do they have to make the shelves so freaking high?"

I reached up and grabbed the book off the shelf, giving it to the smaller raven with a smile.

"Thanks." he answered a little embarrassed that a girl was able to reach it and he wasn't.

That's when Doumeki came up behind him. "Hey."

Watanuki let out a terrified yelp and jumped, clutching his heart. His shock quickly turned to anger when he realized who it was.

"You bastard! I told you not to scare me like that!" he yelled spazzing out and flailing.

"_De'ja' vu?" _I thought to myself.

"You're too loud." was all the stoic teen said before uncovering his ears.

"~Watanuki~!"

The blue-eyed teen grimaced as Yuko's voice was heard down the hallway. "I have to go. Yuko probably wants me to buy her usual intake of booze and food on my way home, the stupid drunk. See you Carmen-chan." he then started walking down the hallway. Doumeki gave me a small nod before following the smaller raven. They hadn't gone a few feet when Doumeki grabbed Watanuki's smaller hand in his. This resulted in his boyfriend's usual spazzing and protests. I snickered to myself quietly as I saw the smirk on Doumeki's face.

"Oi."

I turned around to see Kurogane standing right behind me.

"What?"

"You're coming to my house to work on the project, remember?"

_"Shit! I completely forgot about that!"_ I thought giving myself a mental kick.

I followed the raven silently out to the parking lot, ignoring the curious stares and whispers of the people around us. They stopped immediately when Kurogane looked at them with a death glare.

When we got to his car, the raven opened the passenger's door for me, which was pretty out of the ordinary.

"You dumbass, don't treat me like a girl!" I grumbled.

"You are a girl."

"Biologically, yes. But I don't want you to treat me like one!"

"Whatever. Idiot."

"_Don't call me an idiot either you jackass!"_

**88888**

Kurogane turned out to live in the Upper class part of Amestris, which I should of guessed since Tomoyo had said that he had come to live with them. The apartment buildings were defiantly classier and a lot better looking than the one that Sarah and I lived in. We finally pulled up in front of one of the nicer looking buildings. The raven stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked toward the front door to the lobby, me trailing behind him.

The moment after I removed my shoes and stepped into the apartment, I was nearly bowled over by Tomoyo, who startled me with an excited flying hug tackle. "Ca-chan! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed.

"I just saw you at school," I told her, holding back a sigh as my hyper classmate uttered my childhood nickname. _"This is probably Winry's doing." _I thought, making a mental note to talk to the blonde about her blurting out things from my childhood without my permission.

I was brought out of my thoughts when an irritated Kurogane said that we should start the project already. Tomoyo pouted and mumbled something to the raven about not being so moody all the time before walking down the hallway.

As Kurogane led the way into the living room, I couldn't help myself as I let my eyes roam around the huge living room. Huge picture windows, beautiful chandelier hanging overhead, black leather couch, and a huge flat screen plasma TV. Dear God these people were freaking rich.

"Ugh, she just _had _to give us the stupidest topic for this dumb ass project! I don't even see how someone can read this stupid language.'' he growled as he unloaded all the materials we needed.

"What are you talking about? This is easy, I can read it-" I paused. "Oh right, you suck at Spanish."

I received an angry glare in return. I smiled back innocently to tease him.

"Here let me show you," I picked up the sheet that had our topic and directions on it (which of course the teacher put in Spanish.) I read each of them easily and then divided up the work for each of us to do. After a few hours of working, I finally called it a day when I realized how late it was getting.

I put my coat on a reached into my pocket for my car keys. I then remembered that my truck was being fixed.

"You need a ride?"

I shook my head, "You've driven me around enough. I don't mind walking home, it's a nice night."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow. "You live on the other side of town. What do you think your parents will think when you come home around midnight or later than that?"

I froze. My eyes widened as I stared at him. Visions of my dream forced themselves back into my mind. Lust, the knife, _the blood._

I felt bile rise into my throat as I rushed out of the room and into the adjacent bathroom, slamming the door behind me. I leaned over the toilet and emptied my stomach of its contents.

Tears filled my eyes as I tried not to cry. Unfortunately, my mind's silent plea was ignored as the tears came from my screwed shut eyes as I cried brokenly like a five-year-old who had gotten separated from her mother.

My eyes opened as I felt something cool against my head. I lifted my streaming face and was surprised to see the raven holding a wet face cloth against my forehead, a look of confusion and concern on his face.

"Do you want me to call your mom?" he asked me. "If your this sick, you need to be home so she can take care of you."

Immediately, I turned my face away from him. I wasn't going to show weakness in front of someone else. "My sister and I are the only ones who live in our apartment. My parents..." I stopped, but forced myself to finish my sentence: "...are both dead"

Though my head was turned away, I sensed him freeze. He then asked, "Do you want me to drive you home?"

I nodded my head, angrily wiping the tears from my face.

The drive home was again, very awkward. Neither of us said anything until we pulled up in front of my apartment building. I told him "Bye" before shutting the door and walking swiftly away from the car.

As soon as I got into the apartment, I locked the front door and stumbled into my bedroom, fresh tears rolling down my face. I curled up in a ball on my bed, hugging my pillow to my chest.

I told Kurogane. I had told him about what happened to my parents. What if he told other people? I would be an outcast. They'd probably start rumors of how it was probably my fault for their deaths. I cried and cried until I finally drifted off to sleep still sniffling quietly.

**Post notes-** Just to warn you guys, you might hate me for what I'm going to do for the next chapter. Sooooo yeah, REVIEW!

Your Friend,

**Carmen Veiga**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's notes-** *peeks out from behind a chair.* Hi everyone. *ducks down to avoid a million knives thrown at me* HEY! I'm sorry that the last chapter took so long to update! I've been really busy with school and everything!

So as I said last chapter, I have a feeling that you might hate me for what I wrote here, but let me reassure you that it turns out okay!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa or FMA. If I did, I would have made more Kurofai moments, SyaoSakura moments, and I would have added Carmen into the FMA series. As a little side note, I would have made Kurogane and Fai kiss in the series and the manga.**

**KCH33: Oi. -*points behind Carmen***

**Me: What?- *looks and sees a pissed off Kurogane* -Shit.- *runs away from Kurogane***

**Kuro-puppy: I'M GONNA KILL YOU! *runs after Carmen***

**KCH33: *looks after them running around in a big circle-turns back to fans* So yeah, I guess I'll finish this up for Carmen. I've edited these chapters to the best of my ability for your enjoyment. On Carmen's behalf, we hope you enjoy this chapter. Please wish Veiga over here the best of luck. *jabs her thumb in Carmen's direction-(they're still running people).**

* * *

**~Chapter Seven~**

"Hold still, I'm almost done." Tomoyo's voice ordered. Taking out the last pin, she stepped back next to Winry and Sakura to admire her work. "Stop making that face, Carmen. You look so pretty!"

"Just get this damn thing off me!" I protested, wobbling as I took a step forward in hot pink high heels. The four of us had gone to Tomoyo's apartment after school had ended. Autumn had come to Amestris, turning the leaves shades of reds, yellows, and oranges. Tomoyo had insisted that she make holiday dresses for us, which I found pointless since she was making them two months before Christmas. What I hadn't known was that Winry had once again volunteered me to be Tomoyo's little dress up doll. For the past hour I had been poked with pins, smothered in stupid frills and ribbons, and had my face ruined by loads of makeup. The raven-haired girl had made me model a dark pink dress with unnecessarily puffy sleeves and about two dozen ribbons and frills. When I had asked why they always chose me to try on dresses and makeup, all three of them answered: "Because you're so pretty, that's why!"

Winry fixed me with an exasperated look as she watched me become caught in a wrestling match with the dress in an attempt to get it off. She finally walked over and helped me pull it over my head. "I still can't believe that after all the years that I've known you, you _still_ hate everything pink, cute, and girly." she said. We had since made up after what she said in the hallway, though she still isn't that happy about Kurogane. Sakura somehow managed to find out but... that's another story. A very _painful _one to be exact.

"I don't despise this stuff. I'm just not as obsessed about it as some other girls our age." I answered jabbing my thumb in Tomoyo and Sakura's direction. They both just smiled innocently.

I stood up from Tomoyo's bed and pulled on my coat. "Anyway, I have to go." I told them.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"My truck finally got fixed, so I have to go pick it up. Not to mention that I have to pick Sarah up from her friend's house, AND I have to start dinner soon." I answered.

"Jeez, you always have a ton of stuff to do," Tomoyo commented as she started putting away the unfinished dresses.

"What do you expect, I'm the only one who has legal authorization to take care of her." I replied.

**88888**

The sun was slowly sinking in the sky as I neared the garage. I pulled the collar of my coat up a little higher and stuffed my hands in my pockets as a chilling wind started blowing.

After paying the mechanic, I pulled out of the garage and went to go pick up Sarah. She slid into the backseat and we headed down the street.

Unfortunately for us, we hit some traffic on our way to the grocery store, which put me in a pretty bad mood. Finally, we got out of that situation and drove along the highway. It was dark now and it was getting a little harder to see.

Sarah, who had been pretty quiet the whole ride, planted the back of her feet on the top of the passenger's seat.

"Sarah, can you please get your feet off the seat?" I asked her moving her shoes off. She put them right back up.

"Sarah," I said in a firmer tone, "I said get your feet off the seat."

"Maybe I don't want to."

A little surprised at this, I frowned at her in the mirrior. A similar scowl looked back at me.

"What's your problem?" I asked her. She turned her head to look out the window.

"Leave me alone." she muttered.

"No, I'm not going to leave you alone. Now what's wrong?" I asked her again. I was started to get irritated that she wouldn't tell me.

Her angry expression snapped back to me in the mirror. "Are you deaf? I said leave me alone, so stop talking to me and just keep drivng!" she yelled.

"Don't talk to me like that!" I screamed back, my anger starting to boil over. "If you're not going to tell me, then fine! But that doesn't give you the right to act like a PMSing bitch, because no one wants to listen to it!"

What happened next came out of nowhere. The car lurched forward as another car slammed into us from behind. The truck swerved in a complete three-sixty. When it came to a complete stop, my heart was beating so fast. Someone had just rear-ended us.

"Carmen?" came a small and terrified voice from the back of the truck.

A bright light suddenly filled my vision.

**_SMASH!_**

Glass splintered everywhere and there was a horrible crunching noise as the truck completely flipped over.

And then... everything went black.

**88888**

_Beep._

_Beep._

**_Beep._**

The sound was faint at first, but it got louder and became clearer as I slowly regained conciousness. My eyes opened, but I snapped them shut and groaned in pain as the light on the ceiling shined in my eyes, making them hurt.

Wait. A ceiling light?

My eyes snapped open once again and I sat up. Worst thing I've ever done. I cried out in pain as a burning pain jolted to life in my ribcage and raced throughout my body. I was then gently, but firmly forced into lying back down.

"Don't move. You were badly injured in that crash." I looked up to see a doctor hovering over the side of my bed, his hand on my shoulder. I then noticed that my left arm was covered in bandages, and my automail hand was smashed. Other bandages covered one of my legs, forehead, and I could also feel some wrapped around my right shoulder from under my shirt. They were already starting to soak through with my blood.

My voice was painfully dry and I couldn't talk at first. When I was able to regain some of my voice I asked, "Where's... my sister?"

I sensed his tone completly change right after I asked. "Your sister... Her injuries are more serious than yours, Carmen."

I froze, feeling as if someone had just punched me in the gut.

The doctor then explained to me that a drunk driver had been the one who rear-ended us. Another truck hadn't seen us after we had done the three-sixty and had rammed us from the side. I had only just escaped with some bad cuts from the broken glass, but nothing life threatening. Sarah however had been put in the ambulance with a broken arm, two fractured ribs, four stitches in her leg, and a concussion. The doctor said that even though it sounded bad, my sister was going to be fine. I however, wasn't convinced one bit.

After a few hours, they let me leave the room and go into the waiting room. I was informed that Ed, Al, and Winry were already waiting.

As soon as I entered the room, Winry ran over to me and hugged me, being careful of my cuts. Her eyes were red from crying over-dramatically. Ed, who looked like he had almost been in tears himself, had signs of relief in his expression and tear stains on his shirt which obviously showed that Winry had cried into it. A similar expression shone on Al's face as I sat down next to him.

Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Fai arrived not long after. Watanuki and Doumeki shuffled in after them. Sakura burst into tears when she saw me, and ran to hug me like Winry had done. She said that she had been terrified for me and Sarah when Winry had called her. I assured her that I was fine and Sarah was going to be too, though I doubted my words entirely.

As everyone else sat down with us, Tomoyo left the room. She then came back a second later with the person who surprised me the most in coming: Kurogane. Though he didn't say anything, I saw the relief in his eyes when he saw me, and that slowly disapeared as he saw my bandaged body.

We all sat there in silence for the longest time, the minutes slowly ticking by, feeling like hours. Only one thing was on my mind at that moment, and that was Sarah. I started blaming myself for screaming at her in the car. It was my fault that we had gotten into that stupid accident in the first place. I should have been paying closer attention. If I had done that, then I probably would have been able to avoid the drunk driver and none of this would have happend!

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Al. He was looking at me with a knowing expression on his face. He then lowered his voice so no one else could hear. "I know that you're probably blaming yourself for what happened," he muttered, "but it wasn't your fault. These things can happen, and if anything it was that driver's fault. Sarah will be fine."

I nodded, but I continued to hit myself across my face over and over in my head.

Finally, a nurse came into the room. She told us that Sarah was slowly starting to wake up. The tension lowered immensely, and was replaced with relief. The nurse then told me that I could see my sister if I wanted to.

I stood outside the door to her room, debating in my head if I should go in or not. I did desperately want to go in and see her, but I didn't want to see how bad of a condition she was in. I finally took a deep breath and stepped into the room. When I opened my eyes, I almost turned and ran.

Sarah was laying on her back in the bed with bandages covering her arm, forehead, leg, and torso. Her face was ghostly pale, even paler than Fai's.

I swallowed hard and made my way slowly over to her side and sat down in the chair to the right of the bed. The only thing that reassured me somewhat was the heart monitar and it's readings of Sarah's heartbeat.

"_Sarah," _I thought, feeling tears stinging my eyes and slowly start to roll down my cheeks, "_I'm so sorry."_ The sobs came then. All thoughts of staying strong melted away as my shoulders shook intensely with each strangled choke coming from me. It was my fault. _It was all my fault_.

That's when I heard it. A weak voice that sounded far away. "Ca-chan?" my eyes snapped opened and I slowly forced my head up. Sarah was looking at me. Her eyes had a heavy look to them, like she had woken up from a nap, not knocked unconcious on the highway from another driver.

"Carmen, why are you crying?" she continued.

I quickly turned my head out of habit and wiped the tears from my eyes. "I'm not crying." I answered stubbornly, commanding my voice to stay steady.

Ignoring my childish reply, my sister slowly sat up, wincing as her injured body protested at the sudden change of position. She turned her head towards me again.

"What is it?" I asked, reading her expression.

She looked down at her bandaged hands folded in her lap, "You're going to be mad."

I raised my eyebrow. "Sarah, what happened?"

The silence seemed to strech on forever before she sighed. "I need to tell you the real reason why I was so ticked off in the car tonight."

Silence.

"Before you came to pick me up, my friend Hikari told me that it wasn't normal that you took care of me in place of Mom and Dad. We had a big fight and decided that we wouldn't be friends anymore."

The dangerous beast that was my anger roared to life in me, but I forced it down and balled my fists in my lap instead.

"Please don't be mad." the blonde pleaded quietly, raising her head slightly to look at me.

I took a deep breath and forced a small smile on my face. "I'm not mad. You shouldn't worry yourself like this. It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around."

At that moment, one of the nurses came into the room, telling us that the hospital would be closing soon for the night. I got up and said goodbye to my sister, promising over and over that I would get some rest tonight and not to strain myself.

It was freezing out when we got out to the parkng lot. Luckily, Winry had been smart and had brought an extra coat for me since my other one had been thrown out from the amount of blood on it. That part really sucked. It was my favorite coat.

I was going to get a ride home with Winry since I had no other way to get there. Just as I was about to slide into the passenger's seat, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye: a black SUV, and a familiar-looking guy walking toward it.

"I'll be right back," I told Winry, ignoring her confused stare. I walked as quickly as I could over to the car, only wincing once when I felt a painful stab in my leg.

"Kurogane!"

He turned around and waited until I got to him before asking, "What?"

I was silent for a few minutes. Then I looked up at him.

"Thank you for coming tonight. I . . . I really appreciate it." I told him. He looked at me, a faint look of confusion on his face.

The both of us nearly jumped when Winry blared her car horn. "CARMEN! Hurry up! I'm not sitting in here while you're out there in the freezing cold! I have to get you home!" she yelled out the car window.

I yelled back to her that I was coming. I turned back to Kurogane, awkwardly holding out my hand. "I meant it when I said thank you. Friends?"

He was silent for only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity before his larger, warmer hand closed around mine in a small handshake, being careful of the bandages located all over the place. "Yeah. Friends."

I flinched and nearly swore when Winry beeped her horn again. I let go of Kurogane's hand and walked back to the car.

"What were you talking about with him?" the blonde asked.

I buckled my seatbelt and settled down into the seat. "Let's just say that we're going to be adding a few more friends into the circle," I replied quietly.

"WHAT!" came Winry's indignant reply, nearly blasting out my eardrums. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep so I could avoid her ranting. Luckily it worked and we drove down the street in silence.

But whether Winry like it or not, Kurogane was our friend now. And I had a feeling it was going to be like that for a long time.

**Post notes-**

**CV: ***Comes dancing crazily into the room*

**KCH33**: *Looks up from desk* What's got you in such a good mood?

**CV:** One, I finally finished this chapter-

**KCH:** Which took you over like five months to write beause you're a huge procrastinator...

**CV:** *death glare* I'm going to ignore that. And two, CHRISTMAS IS NEXT WEEK AND I'M SO EXCITED!

**KCH33:** Hahaha. I already had Christmas because I'm leaving on a trip for Christmas, so I won't be editing for a while(Sorry guys). And that still doesn't give you an excuse for your procrastination.

**CV: ***explodes* WELL WHAT ABOUT YOU! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN UPDATED SYAORAN LI VS. THE WORLD YET EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF CHAPTERS WRITTEN UP! YOU SHOWED THEM TO ME! I HAVE EVIDENCE AND-

**KCH33: KCH CHOP!**

**CV:** *Goes to a corner and holds head, moaning in pain*

**KCH33: **AT LEAST I HAVE MY CHAPTERS WRITTEN ALREADY! YOU JUST HAVE EXTREME WRITER'S BLOCK FOR A WHOLE **SIX MONTHS**? I DON'T THINK SO! I HAVE BEEN HOUNDING YOUR ASS FOR THESE CHAPTERS FOR FOREVER! *Turns back to audience* Oh. Forgot you were there. Sorry if I'm scaring you guys. It's that time of the month, you know? Check out my profile for upcoming chapters in my stories that **_WILL_** *glares at Carmen* be coming out soon, and naughty little ideas that are swimming around in my head that you, the fans, get to decide which of them are to be published! I will be going away soon, to Thailand, for the holidays, but I'll be trying my best from a distance.

Keep on reading my freinds! There is so much more to come. Beleive me. I _know_. So... yeah... uh REVIEW!

**CV:** NOOOO! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO! *grabs onto KCH's leg and cries.*

**KCH**: *Sweatdrop*


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's notes - **I hope you all had a great Christmas! I know I did! I got the Nook Color from my parents. The thing is awesome! It's one of those electronic book things that you buy books and read them on. You can go on the internet too, so it's kind of like a mini iPad!

So anyway, not that much to say about this chapter, other than the gang is going to go out on Halloween.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa or FMA. If I did, I would have added Carmen into the anime and manga, AND I would've made Winry and Ed kiss in the manga and anime and/or movie. Same with Al and Carmen :D. If I owned Tsubasa, I would have added in more SyaoSaku and KuroFai moments in the manga and anime, I would've added more of the Celes arc in "Spring Thunder," I would have continued the anime so that it shows that the guys save Sakura eventually, and . . . *looks around and says in a stage whisper* I would have made Syaoran and Sakura kiss. The same with Kurogane and Fai.**

**Kurogane: I HEARD THAT, CV!**

**CV:*Runs away with Kurogane chasing again***

**CV and KCH33: YOU LOVE FAI! JUST ADMIT IT!**

**Kurogane: *blushes* SHUT UP!**

**KawaiiChibiHime33 is responsible for editing these chapters for your enjoyment!**

**~Chapter Eight~**

"Carmen, hurry up! Winry's going to be here soon." Sarah called through my closed bedroom door for the third time that night.

"I'll be out in a few minutes." I called back, not making any effort to move from my position on the bed.

If you're wondering what exactly we were talking about, tonight was Halloween. About a month had passed since the car accident. Sarah's arm and ribs had mended and she got her stitches out. Halloween had been approaching fast, and we were all planning to go out trick-or-treating. So what if we were in High School? It's free candy.

Tomoyo had volunteered her house for the Halloween party that we were going to be having afterward. Winry was going to be here any minute to pick up Sarah and I since I still didn't have a car. But there was no way in hell that I was wearing the costume that Winry forced me into buying. It was currently on my desk chair, hanging over the back of it. I was currently glaring at it, hoping somehow that it would explode into flames.

Sarah suddenly came into my room, noticing that I hadn't moved from my spot. "Carmen! Winry is coming up now! Why aren't you in your costume?"

"It's not the one that I wanted," I said monotonously, determined not to lose my staring contest with the offending clothing as I answered.

Sarah sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked exasperated. Sarah was going as an Archery Maiden. She was wearing a long-sleeved white dress that came down just below her ankles. The top was a V-neck with gold trim around the collar. Gold Roman sandles were worn on her feet and a small white tiara was on her head. Her golden hair was pulled back in a French braid with gold ribbon running through it. A wooden bow was strapped over her shoulder which completed the outfit.

Winry then came up behind the smaller blonde. "You still mad about that?" she asked with a playful smirk. I shot her a death glare in response. Winry was dressed up like an angel. She was wearing a short sleeved white gown that went all the way to the floor. Big, feathery white wings were on her shoulders and a halo made up of the same feathers was on her head. White bracelets adorned her arms, four for each.

Winry walked toward the chair and picked up the costume. "Come on Carmen, you'd look so pretty in this!" she coaxed, holding it up for me to see. I flinched dramatically and shook my head.

"Carmen, either you wear that costume and come have fun with us at the party, or you don't come at all and sit here alone for the rest of the night. Your choice," the blonde told me.

I was silent for a few minutes.

"Please, Ca-chan?" Sarah asked, giving me the puppy dog eyes. Damn, she knows that I can't say no to those big brown eyes and the pet name.

I sighed and held out my hand. "Gimme it," I grumbled. I could hear Winry and Sarah's squeals of delight as I stomped off to the bathroom. Damn it, they're evil! I put the costume on and looked at myself in the mirror. My legs felt so exposed in this thing, even if I was wearing red leggings. I went back into my room where my sister and friend were waiting.

"What did I tell you? You look so ~kawaii~!" the blondes both squealed.

Winry then took something out of the bag she brought. On closer inspection, I saw that it was a hair straightener and . . . makeup.

I held my hands up and backed away from it like it was a bomb about to explode when I saw where Winry was going with this. "HELL NO! Isn't the costume enough?"

"But it's not complete without doing something to your hair and face!" Sarah explained. They both then grabbed my arms and practically dragged me, protesting and yelling, into the bathroom.

**88888**

"Carmen, it's not as bad as you think. You look great!" Sarah said trying to convince me as we walked down the hall to Tomoyo's living room where everyone was waiting. "It's also a color that looks fabulous on you! You like this color, so you have to like the outfit. You look fantastic."

"Maybe to you, but not to me," I grumbled.

"Stop complaining. Everyone's going to see it anyway," Winry whispered. She and Sarah then stepped into the living room. They were immediately greeted with hellos and compliments on their costumes. I stayed in the hallway pressed up against the wall, somewhat hoping I could blend into the shadows. Sadly, it seemed, that was an impossible dream in that freaking thing.

That's when the question came up from the other room. "Hey Sarah, where's Carmen-chan?" It sounded like Sakura's voice.

"Carmen!" Winry and Sarah called.

"I'm not coming in!"

"Come on, you look awesome!"

"You forced me to buy this when I didn't want it!"

"Just come in here."

"No!"

"GET IN HERE, DAMN IT!"

I growled but left my spot in the hallway and came into the living room.

**88888**

_**Sarah's POV**_

"Kyaa! Sarah, Winry! You look so cute!'' Tomoyo squealed after she bounded up to us when we entered the living room. She was dressed up as a bunny, and it was pretty obvious that she made it herself. She was wearing a small black top hat with white fluffy bunny ears sticking out the top of it. A bright, red, sparkly vest was worn over a thin white sweater. White gloves were worn on her hands which she made to look like rabbit paws. A jean mini-skirt, white leggings, and white flats were worn on her legs and feet. A small cotton ball tail was clipped onto the back of the mini skirt.

My eyes scanned the living room, checking out everyones costumes. Syaoran and Sakura were sitting on the couch while Fai was busy annoying the hell out of Kurogane.

Syaoran was dressed as a prince while Sakura was dressed as a princess. Between the two of them, there was enough red on their faces over their accidental choice of costume to recreate Carmens outfit.

Fai looked like he was dressed like a wizard. He was wearing an extremely long hooded blue and white coat which went all the way down to the floor. Underneath he wore blue knee - high boots, long blue gloves, and a white shirt with blue trim. A staff was held in his gloved hand.

Kurogane was dressed as a ninja. He was dressed entirely in black from the cloak on his back to the boots he wore on his feet. A red helmet adorned with a black crescent moon was on his head, and a sword was attached to his belt.

Edward and Alphonse were over by the tables that would have the food and desserts on it later. I almost laughed when I saw Ed dressed as a knight. "The Fullmetal Knight," Winry whispered to me, and we both giggled. I could have been wrong, but I thought I saw Winrys face turn a little pink and sneak a glance at the blonde.

What Al was dressed as was the last thing that I expected. He was dressed as a butler, and I had to admit that he looked really handsome. His short, dirty blonde hair was slicked back and not hanging in his face for once. He wore a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a red tie. White gloves were on his hands and black dress shoes were on his feet.

_"Carmen will like that," _I thought, a mischievous grin appearing on my face. Even if she didn't realize it, I knew that Carmen had a crush on Al, and I knew it was the same for him. They were both so naive. It was really obvious to everyone around them, and yet they couldn't even tell. Ah, typical.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard Sakura's voice calling for me, "Hey Sarah, where's Carmen-chan?"

Winry and I both shared knowing, conniving smiles.

"Oh shit, what did you two do?" Ed asked. He knew us too well.

"Carmen!" we both called. Her voice then sounded from the hallway.

"I'm not coming in!"

"Come on, you look awesome!" Winry chided.

"You forced me to buy this when I didn't want it!"

"Just come in here," I sighed.

"No!"

"GET IN HERE, DAMN IT!" yelled a frustrated Winry, pulling her wrench from out of nowhere. Ed, Al, and I all cowered in fear reflexively at the sight of it.

After a few seconds, I heard her growl before she walked from her spot in the hallway and into the living room.

I swear to God, everyone except me and Winrys jaws dropped to the floor the minute she stepped into the room.

The costume that Winry had forced Carmen to wear was a devil costume.

The top was a dark red, sleeveless shirt with a V-neck that came just above her belly button. It clung to her figure showing off the cures of her torso. The locket that Mom and Dad had given her hung in its usual place around her neck. From the top - down she wore a black mini-skirt that came half-way down her thighs but just above her knees. Red leggings were worn on her legs and under her skirt. A pair of cherry red Roman sandles were on her feet. To top off the costume, a headband with black devil horns was on her head and a red devil tail was attached to the skirt. Winry and I had straightened her hair and had done a really great job with bringing out her eyes with the makeup. Black eyeliner outlined her eyes while the mascara made her eyelashes look even longer than they already were. We actually somehow forced a knock-out to emerge from the tomboy.

_**Carmen's POV**_

I could feel my face starting to heat up as the silence stretched on for what seemed like hours. I wasn't used to being stared at like this. What was the big deal? It was just me. Just in a very . . . (as Winry put it) "sexy devil" costume. My eyes traveled over to where Ed and Al were standing. Al was actually the only one who's jaw wasn't dropped, but his face was a beet red. Our eyes locked for a second before I averted my own.

The silence was finally broken when I heard two voices yell "KAWAII!" The next thing I knew, Sakura and Tomoyo had double glomped me. All three of us fell to the floor and they immediately started gushing over my costume and were acting all sorts of crazy.

That then started me running around the living room with my two psycho friends chasing after me. "QUICK ED, SHIELD ME!" I yelled and jumped behind the blonde, using him for a shield, much to his protest.

"~Hyuu!~ Looks like you're not the only devil in the group anymore, Kuro-puu!" Fai joked elbowing the raven.

"Shut up, dumbass!" he growled.

"KURO-PUPPY IS SO MEAN!" Fai wailed. This resulted in Kurogane unsheathing his costume's katana and chasing Fai out of the room with it while yelling threats. For Fai's sake, I hope that sword wasn't real.

"I think that's our cue to go," Tomoyo said, finally giving up on the playful chase. The rest of us grabbed our pillowcases and headed out into the cool fall night.

It turns out that Tomoyo's neighborhood is the best place to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. The dark-haired girl thought that it would be easier to split up into small groups so everybody could bring in good hauls of candy. The groups were: Syaoran and Sakura, Kurogane and Fai, Tomoyo and Sarah, Ed and Winry, and finally Al and me. We would all get candy and then head back to the house for the party.

Like I said, Tomoyo's neighborhood is literally the greatest place for candy. About five minutes into walking around, our bags were weighed down with our precious loot since almost every house gave giant sized candy of everything. It soon came around the time to head back.

We walked by a resteraunt on our way back to Tomoyo's. A group of guys were hanging around outside, smoking some cigarettes and drinking. By the looks of them, it seemed like they had had a little too much. I heard a wolf whistle come from their direction.

"What's up, sexy bitch? How about you come hang with us?" one of them called, his words slurred due to his drunken state.

I ignored them, but a feeling of uneasiness started coming over me. They kept yelling vulgar things my way, and made more than one perverted gestures.

Al turned his head and was probably going to tell them to fuck off when I placed a hand on his arm. "Don't, Al. It's not worth it. Let's just go." I told him, avoiding my gaze and not feeling very confident in my words.

I stiffened when I heard a gasp from Al. Raising my eyes I swallowed a scream when I saw him unconcious on the ground. One of the men from the resteraunt stood over him, a crowbar in his hand.

That's when somebody grabbed me from behind and a hand covered my mouth, cutting off my scream. The men soon surrounded me, the predetory look of hunger showing in their eyes.

"What should we do with her boys?" the one who had me asked. As the others threw out their suggestions, he leaned down closed to my ear, the terrible smell of cigarette smoke and booze mixed together. "You've got nowhere to go, sweetheart. Your boyfriend can't help you. I think it's time to have a little fun." His hand then made it's way toward my skirt.

My instincts kicked in and I stomped on the guy's foot, then turned and kneed him in the crotch as he let out a cry of pain. Unfortunately, as soon as he went down, his space was just filled up with more guys.

"Oooh, this one is fiesty! Just the way I like them!" another snickered. I tried to run but he grabbed my arms and pinned them behind my back.

I started panicking and struggling, but he kept his iron grip on me. Finally, I threw my head back and screamed, "SOMEBODY HELP ME! THIS GUY IS GOING TO-"

I then felt the grip on my arms slacken. I looked around and gasped when I saw my attacker on the ground moaning in pain. But that was only half of what startled me.

"Alphonse?"

The younger but taller blonde was standing protectively in front of me, a murderous look on his face. It must have been scaring the other guys because some of them stepped back.

"Get out of here," Al growled, "or do you want to end up like your friends too?" Finally, the other guys decided to take the smarter route and got out of there.

As soon as they were out of sight, Al groaned in pain and staggered slightly, holding his head.

"Al!" I cried out, balancing him. My eyes widened in fear. "Alphonse, you're bleeding!" A trail of blood was falling down the side of his face from his head and dripping on the ground.

"Don't worry about it Carmen, I'm okay," he tried to reassure me, which only caused him to moan in more pain.

"Okay my ass! They fucking hit you with a crowbar! I'm surprised you don't have a concussion or something!" I yelled at him as I helped him walk down the sidewalk. Christ, Ed's going to kill me.

"God," Al started to almost giggle like a crazy person, "that's the scariest shit I've ever seen." There was a smile on his face, but it didn't look like a healthy one. He was quivering with fits of laughter and he basically looked scared out of his crazy mind.

I took one look over him and said, "We really need to get you home."

**Post notes- CV: **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! KAWAIICHIBIHIME33 IS HOME FROM THAILAND!

**KCH33: ***Appears in a poof of smoke* Yes, I am back! Thank you, hold your applause!

**CV:** KYAAAAA! I'M SO HAPPY YOUR BACK! *glomps*

**KCH33:** GET OFF OF ME!

So yeah... REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's notes -** Good news people! My computer finally stopped acting stupid, and now I can write up my stories again without borrowing my older brother's laptop! YAYYYY!

Anywho, let's get to today's chapter: Thanksgiving has finally come to Amestris, and the gang is having Thanksgiving dinner at Tomoyo's place(obviously, lol). There's going to be food, the Thanksgiving football game, and lots of fun to go around . . . until Fai breaks out the bottles of sake that he snagged out of Yuko's secret stash . . . I'm sorry, but me and KCH33 - being the crazy fangirls that you've come to know and love, thought of a very funny scene while we went skiing last February vacation that was just too good to pass up. *laughs evily*

**nighthunter1220**: . . . Why are you laughing . . . ?

**CV:** *evil smirk* Oh you'll see . . . you'll see . . .

**KCH33: ***Starts laughing with the "Maka psycho smile" on her face. (I'm blonde again BTW, y'alls!)

**nighthunter1220:** o_0

**KawaiiChibiHime33** **is responsible for editing these chapters for your enjoyment (Kitty-Fai approves, if you know what I mean ;))**

**~Chapter Nine~**

I opened the oven door, the delicious smell of cinnamon filling my senses as I took the pumpkin pie out of the oven. November had come to Amestris and the weather was changing fast. The leaves were a million shades of gold, red, and orange, and were dropping off the trees. The days were getting longer and colder. But November also meant that another holiday was coming around the corner: Thanksgiving, which was today. I had just finished baking the pumpkin pie that Sarah and I were taking to Tomoyo's later this afternoon. Everyone was once again going to the amethyst eyed girl's house for dinner. It seemed like Tomoyo was going to be volunteering her place a lot for the future holiday parties.

After the whole Halloween incident, Ed had taken his brother straight to the hospital. Luckily, Al didn't have a concussion, but he did have to get a few stitches. To my relief, Ed wasn't mad at me at all. He was more pissed off at the guys who had hurt his little brother and tried to assault me.

Sarah walked in from the living room and took a big breath in. "Sweet! Mom's famous pumpkin pie!" She tried reaching for the knife to cut herself a piece, but I slapped her hand away.

"No! This is for _after_ dinner tonight, Sarah." I scolded. The blonde pouted. Seeing that I wasn't going to let her slip a small piece she rolled her eyes playfully. The two of us busied ourselves with cooking until it was time for Winry and the Elrics to come pick us up.

**88888**

The door to Tomoyo's house opened. A big grin spread across the raven haired girl's face. "Carmen-chan! Sarah-chan! Come on in!" she exclaimed opening the door up for us. No sooner had we taken a step forward when a familiar blonde shorty materialized in the living room doorway.

"CARMEN! YOU MADE PUMPKIN PIE!" Ed yelled making a beeline in my direction, the crazy look in his eye he always gets whenever he eats my cooking. His jump was cut short when Winry's wrench came flying out of nowhere, hitting him in the back of the head **(1)**. He fell to the ground dramatically, the wrench stuck in his skull and blood spurting out of his head comically.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, DON'T ATTACK CARMEN EVERY TIME SHE BAKES SOMETHING!" Winry screeched from the living room doorway (Al, Sarah, and I watched with completely calm expressions since we were used to this while everyone else jaws dropped).

I waved my hand at a shocked Tomoyo. "Don't worry about Ed. Throwing a wrench is Winry's way of saying that she loves him." I easily dodged the bloody wrench thrown at me from a very flustered looking mechanic. _"That was for making me play the guitar in Chorus." _I thought, an evil smile spreading across my face.

With all of that over, I put the pie in the refrigerator and joined everyone in the living room where they were watching the Thanksgiving Day game (mostly the guys). Tomoyo then proceeded to introduce me to some people who I didn't know yet. First off was her boyfriend Eriol **(2)**. He was a tall young man with pale skin and dark blue hair. Glasses rested on the bridge of his nose which made him look intelligent, and for some reason very devious.

Next was Chi and Hideki. Chi was a pretty girl with large brown eyes, pale skin similar to Fai's, and long gold hair that she wore down with two sections of her hair in the front tied up. In her hair were two barrets in the shape of two, fluffy cat ears that she wore on both sides of her head (according to Tomoyo, they were the latest fashion accessories). She greeted me with a small head nod but she was very quiet and often stayed close to Hideki, who I assumed was her boyfriend.

Oddly enough, Roy and Riza were there at the party sitting next to each other on one end of the couch watching the game. Rumors had been going around the school that the two of them had finally hooked up. And by the way that they were holding hands, I guess the rumors were right.

About twenty minutes later, Winry, Tomoyo, and Fai called us all into the dining room for dinner. This room was even bigger than the living room. Huge picture windows lined the wall, letting in tons of sunlight and giving us a great view of the park. A long table was situated in the center of the room and had a large chair at the head of the table where Tomoyo's older sister, Amaterasu, was currently sitting. One more crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Tons of delicious looking food had been placed on the table making my mouth water just looking at it. As soon as we said grace, everyone started attacking and eating the food like it would be the last meal they would ever eat (Ed of course finished off almost all of the pumpkin pie before Winry hit him again with the wrench).

After we all stuffed ourselves full, everyone piled into the living room to watch the rest of the football game and eat the desserts that had been layed out. That's when things got a little . . . interesting.

"Hey, guys! Check out what I brought!" Fai sang out loud. About ten sake bottles seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Watanuki stared at the bottles shocked. "Fai-san . . . where did you get that sake?"

"I stole it out of Yuko's secret stash in her office before school ended Wednesday. Why?" the blond asked cheerfully.

Watanuki's arms broke out in their usual spasmodic flailing. "IDIOT! DON'T YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO TAKE SAKE FROM YUKO! NO WONDER SHE WAS YELLING AT ME WHEN WE GOT HOME!

Fai merely waved the spazzing boy off. "Don't worry Watanuki. I'll make sure to return them. She'll hardly notice that they're gone!"

"Enough talk . . . hand over the liquor." Kurogane demanded.

**88888**

**Twenty minutes later . . .**

"I'M A BIRDIE! MEOW!" blurted out a drunk: overly-hyper Fai, who was currently jumping all over the room and rubbing up against people's legs like he was a cat (along with Sakura and Tomoyo, which was even more creepy). Syaoran had picked up a gravy ladle and was running around the house swinging it around like it was a sword. Watanuki was feverishly making out with Doumeki in the corner, and by the looks of it they were going to take it a step further in a few moments. Winry was completely hammered and had slung herself over Ed's shoulders. Edward wasn't that drunk yet, but what the mechanic said next seemed to change his mind . . .

"Hey Ed, what was that girl's name that had a crush on you last year?" Winry babbled, hiccuping and downing down another bottle of sake.

"Uh . . . I don't remember," the blond replied, but seemed cautious of the loopy mechanic.

"Wasn't her name Rose?" Sarah piped up innocently.

Ed cringed.

"~Ohhhhhh yeah~ So . . . you wanna explain THIS?" the blond then proceeded to shove a picture in Ed's face that looked like a girl ("Rose")was pinning Ed onto a bed by straddling him. Ed's face turned completely pale.

"I NEED ANOTHER DRINK!" he yelled seizing another bottle. A few minutes later he was completely gone like the others.

The ones who were still sober were Me, Sarah, Al, and Kurogane. Kurogane could hold his own when it came to alcohol, but I forbade Sarah and Al from drinking it. Anyways, Kurogane and I ended up covering the two younger members of the group's eyes when Roy and Riza got a little . . . excited on the couch.

"Ca-chan! I can't see!" the blond whined, pawing at my hands.

"No, I'm trying to protect your innocence," I said, refusing to budge.

". . . Kurogane-san? Is it really that bad?" Al asked in a small voice. Kurogane's hand was currently covering his eyes.

"Don't look kid. It will ruin you for marriage."

Since the Elrics were our ride home, Sarah and I were forced to stay over Tomoyo's because Al didn't want to leave his brother and he didn't feel comfortable leaving him there. The next morning when we did leave however, both Ed and Winry vowed that they were never drinking booze again.

**Post notes-**

** (1) **Yayy! Wrench Power!

**(2)** Yes, Eriol is finally put in this :P

I'M SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE! SCHOOL IS BEING A BITCH AND I'M IN A SHOW RIGHT NOW THAT HAS SO MANY SONGS TO SING THAT IT'S DRIVING ME UP A WALL (It's Seussical by the way *groans*)! So yeah, everyone getting drunk was the idea that KCH33 and I came up with :P. Review and I'll see you in chapter Ten!


End file.
